The Only Good Way to Communicate.

The written word is a perfectly good means of conducting certain forms of communication – those we might call ‘static’ forms, like this blog post. Where I find it hopelessly inadequate is when it comes to conversation. We seem to be doing it more and more these days – conducting conversations by e-mail and instant messaging. Admittedly, they’re both quicker than writing letters, but they still slow down the natural speed and flow of conversation.

You send somebody a short e-mail that invites a response. It might be two days or more before you get one. Or the person might never respond at all because there isn’t the usual pressure on them to do so. Instant messaging is better, but having the mechanical interface of a keyboard between you still makes it too slow. A thought process that takes two seconds to verbalise probably takes ten or fifteen seconds to type and send. And then you have to wait another ten or fifteen seconds for the reply. The speed of conversation simply doesn’t keep up with the speed of the brain. It’s like driving a car with the handbrake on, or sailing a fast schooner with an anchor dragging. And that’s what gets on my nerves.

The only proper way to hold a conversation is face to face in a quiet room with no interruptions or distractions. Then you can see one another’s eyes, read the body language, put it all together with the tone of voice. You can see the laughter and the tears, you can hear the delight and the disappointment – for real. No lol’s or trying to find just the right word in the hope of communicating the proper degree of anger or concern or whatever it is.

The internet has made the world smaller, and so many of the people we interact with now are too far away for the personal touch. I suppose having the extended network is a good thing, but I really find the means of communicating with it very frustrating at times.