Communication
I hate verbal communication sometimes. When I write, I can get my point across coherently and usually without confusing myself; when I have to actually talk to someone, particularly someone I don’t know, I get nervous, and I’m sure it shows. Either I can’t think of a thing to say, or I stumble around the point I’m trying to get across. There’s almost no time to think about what I’m going to say, and no chance to read back through the conversation.
Telephone calls are the worst thing. No visual cues, no opportunity for non-verbal communication; I feel like I’m flying blind. When I have to call someone I don’t know, I feel like I’m flying blind in a biplane through the Southern Alps, trying to manage the controls with my hands attached backwards.
Posted in News and such
September 14th, 2006 at 12:02 pm
Same.
September 15th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
Yeah. I procrastinate about my phone calls at work something chronic.
September 15th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
Yeah, I can certainly relate.
Perhaps there is a continuum of formality along which the various forms of communication lie? Telephone calls and internet chat are least formal, as they are best used for conveying basic information (who cares if a spelling mistake is made in msn?). Written works are most formal as that is the medium through which the most deeply considered things can be properly conveyed. Actually, there are probably many different continuums. Another one would be that of personality, where feelings are best conveyed at the personal end, and information best conveyed at the non-personal end.
As far as the various forms of communication are concerned, I find that nowadays I don’t get so nervous, or that I’m not so concerned. Perhaps this is because I have given up on being able to properly communicate, first in my own mind, and then even more so with others. So I’m not so nervous as I’ve lowered my standards of communiction, or classified them as unattainable at this present time… and where I haven’t, I pretty much avoid saying anything. Although I am still working on my communication, I’m just trying to set aside my unrealistic perfectionism and work on it gradually.
Hmm… I’m quite sure that I would not have been able to say any of that in a conversation
I can’t say that I can imagine flying blind in a biplane with my hands attached backwards… but I have tryed to ride my bike backwards once, and that was hard enough