Say it to My Face

My Daughter recently texted her boyfriend. During the conversation, an odd text appeared on the screen. My Daughter copied the text and replied, "What do you mean?" Her baffled boyfriend responded, "I don't know. You sent that to me." After going back and forth a few times, they determined her boyfriend sent the text days ago, but it was recently delivered. This conversation raises many questions about modern communications.

The first question concerns the reliability of communication vehicles like text and email. The average daily email delivery failure rate exceeds twenty percent. People send over 340 billion emails each day. According to the undelivered rate, over 68,000,000,000 (68 billion) emails go undelivered each day. That is 476 billion each week. If my math is correct, over two trillion emails go undelivered each month.

People send approximately 10 billion texts daily, resulting in a fifteen percent delivery failure rate. Approximately 1.5 billion SMS messages are not delivered each day. 10.5 billion texts do not reach their destination each week. Extrapolating these numbers leaves us with over 42 billion texts undelivered each month. Carriers store messages for five to fifteen days before deleting them.

With trillions of communications not reaching their destination each month, is it any wonder there are misunderstandings? Relying on electronic communication vehicles may not be prudent if the message is crucial. Critical communications should be carried out via voice (which has its issues) or face-to-face.

Micro-expressions are critical to direct communication. Experts suggest seven universal micro-expressions play a pivotal role in face-to-face meetings. Detecting subtle facial expressions can be difficult when using electronic media, even when meeting via video chat.

The Seven Universal Micro-expressions include surprise, fear, disgust, anger, happiness, sadness, and contempt. Is productive communication possible when the parties involved cannot recognize if someone is angry or disgusted? The deliverability of email and text may not hinder minor communications, but consequential messages should not rely on electronic media.

Video conferences fill the void for many messages. Facial expressions and tone of voice change the level of communication. Video delays and clarity can impact how well we read others. Although video fills an important role, robust communication is best when face-to-face.

Technology offers many advantages. It is possible to contact people across the globe in moments. Corresponding with thousands of people can be executed with the click of a mouse. However, these advancements cannot replace human instinct. So if you have something important to say, please say it to my face.