4 ways to be a more careful, considerate communicator
Be slow to type, be mindful of bias, and write sentences ‘as clean as a bone.’
Communicators tend to carry more corporate freight and persuasive weight during crises.
Along with that heightened responsibility (and visibility) comes increased scrutiny, however. Mistakes get amplified; blunders snowball. Good intentions get misconstrued.
The last thing you want right now is to cause confusion, harm or distraction due to careless wording or clumsy phrasing. Communicators can be messengers of peace, healing, recovery and empowerment, but it takes a consistent flow of thoughtful, mindful messaging.
Keep these ideas in mind to be a more careful communicator:
Be slow to respond. This goes for email, social media and even texting. Before popping off a heated reply, take time to compose yourself and your message. Fight against this cultural obsession we have with speed.
Before hitting send, read and re-read your text. Then read through it again. Being slow to respond tends to take the edge off barbed phrases that might be problematic.
When in doubt, err on the side of brevity. As James Baldwin rightfully suggested, “You want to write a sentence as clean as a bone. That is the goal.”
Clean sentences require fastidious editing, so take time to craft polished responses.
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