We are all conscious of how we respond to email and texts. We do our best to be concise and clear, we adhere to best practices within our organizations.
It took me a while, but I am finally accustomed to the shorthand that has developed, especially when texting. LOL, TY, BRB, BTW. We have made the collective agreement that shorthand is the GS (Gold Standard) but along with the message you are sending, what message are you sending?
No matter how enured we have become to a world of abbreviations, there are subtle consequences to three letter come-backs. I just wrote an important text to a colleague that took thought and time to compose. I got their response 10 minutes later. TY. Better yet, I sent the same text and didn’t receive confirmation at all. They got what they needed. Some small part of me is offended that they didn’t take 2 seconds to say thanks. TY is OK, but how much longer does it take to type “Thanks?”
In a subtle way when I receive an abbreviated response I feel diminished. When I receive no response, I feel devalued. At a subconscious level we all measure the value of our work by the response we get.
So here’s my challenge: Spend a week without sending a single abbreviation. Your world won’t change but maybe you can stop the avalanche that is reducing written communication into bits and bytes.
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