Remote Work: Text Communication

Peter du ToitI'm the founder of FutureWork IQ where I spend my time assisting businesses to improve their climate literacy so as to understand the projected impacts from the expanding climate crisis and how to adapt their workplaces in the face of these impacts.

When in-person, communication is verbal and visual. However when working remotely you need to learn to use ALL forms of digital communication available in order to convey your thoughts and ideas.

Text communication is a critical element. However, research shows that when we use text, on average we exchange about 740 words versus about 1,000 more words when communicating verbally. 1,000 more!

As a result text updates can very easily lead to misunderstandings which is why I highly recommend considering augmenting text updates with emojis. These enable you to add context and tone that can go a long way in preventing misunderstandings.

From rresearch on the use of emojis:

“Using emoticons, emoji, and stickers can supplement the lack of human nonverbal cues in computer-mediated environment. The results show that proper use of emoticons, emoji, and stickers, especially positive emoticons, is conducive to both relationship formation and cognitive understanding. They not only help participants express emotions and manage interrelations but also function as words to aid message comprehension.” – Ying Tang and Khe Foon Hew, researchers at the University of Hong Kong