Over the years online communication has increased exponentially and with it a whole new array of words, symbols and rules have been developed. Talking has become increasingly obsolete in businesses and it’s not unusual for colleagues sitting in the same office to e-mail each other rather than communicate verbally.
This shift in business communication patterns is interesting especially given that today’s society demands information more quickly when in reality typing takes more time than talking. As a result people have created ways to reduce the time spent on typing by using an abbreviated and informal version of English. I regularly receive e-mails that omit punctuation and grammar and include smiley faces.
This is a worrying trend and something I believe PR practitioners should advise companies on how to manage. Employees represent their company when they send corporate e-mails and using a bastardized form of English can affect the company’s image.
More informal communication can lead people to open up more and let down their guard. This is not always a good thing, companies need to demonstrate a level of professionalism and manage their reputation. A company would not post a smiley face on its corporate website but you will find employees sending them in e-mails, is this not one in the same?
The older generation would never draw a smily face, shortened words or compromised on punctuation and grammar in a corporate communication but the same cannot be said about future generations.
And the future doesn't look promising. In a recent survey the Professor of linguistics at Lancaster University, Tony McEnery, found that the top 20 words used by teenagers, including 'yeah', 'no' and 'but', account for about a third of all words used.
It will be interesting to see if companies recognize the need to monitor this and introduce their own net-etiquette in regards to online communication.
I think when it comes to writing on an email or posting on a blog people have become sloppy and often lazy (this can often be blamed on texting) however I certainly feel people should remember that not everyone speaks text. In a professional business email I would find it rather shocking if someone were to email me and there be shortend terms, obviously mistakes can be made with spelling but a greater level of care should be given to ensure a level of professionalism is delivered at all times.
ReplyDeleteHi Katherine,
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting post you made. I agree about what you said, and it is a worrying matter if a business sends emails with smiley faces and 'text talk'! 'it shud nt b lik dis' 'but it should be like this'.
I must say, I never received any 'text talk' in an e-mail from professionals, and you should be very careful when you are communicating with them in a written format.
I remember in my previous University, a lecturer told us "when you email me, please don’t text talk to me". He was the only one who pointed it out. And that's really when I noticed that we do that a lot.
And it's funny because punctuation and grammar are very important, especially for us studying PR that we will be expected to write a lot. In our first semester, we had a whole class about it, and we are MSc students for god sake! I bet the 10 year olds now know more about it than us, and that's all because of how the communication in the world is changing.... either that is through texting, or trying to fit in what you want to say in 140 characters on Twitter!!
What an interesting post, Katherine! Sometimes we are just concerned about the content and the means to communicate it, but what about the language? It's true that the way a person writes (correction, grammar, style) shows a lot of information, and as you point out, it can really affect the reputation of the organization. Anybody would think about what type of professionals are working for it.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I believe that especially in English there is one variable, which "affects" quite hard: the spread of the language all over the world. What this means is that millions of people use tit as a tool of communication (not necessarily in a correct way but to pass the content of the message) and second that the changes of the English language is eventually constant. By the way, I'm a good example, sorry for the mistakes!