The Science of Soundbite

For many younger millennials, Gen-Zers, and folks outside America, voice notes are the norm, and people seem to communicate just fine.

Yet, in the corporate world, many communications teams and leadership continue to bombard people with emails, a grave miscalculation that causes many of us to conclude, "they just don't understand us," resulting in low engagement.

There is now research starting to appear that backs up this trend.

Recenly published on APA PsycNet, "It’s surprisingly nice to hear you: Misunderstanding the impact of communication media can lead to suboptimal choices of how to connect with others."

Results indicated that interactions including voice (phone, video chat, and voice chat) created stronger social bonds and no increase in awkwardness.  Yet, when compared with interactions including text (e-mail, text chat), miscalibrated expectations about awkwardness or connection could lead to suboptimal preferences for text-based media.

It is important for communicators to understand that misunderstanding the consequences of using different communication media could create preferences for media that do not maximize either one’s own or others’ wellbeing.

Read the original article on PsycNet.