I recently made a format change on my monthly newsletter, Weedin 360. I’m making a concerted effort to bring into unity all the areas of expertise I have to better help my clients. I’ve discovered that what my talent, strength, and passion revolves around is creating, building, and enhancing relationships. Let’s face it, both professionally and personally, relationships will guide us to either success or failure. Good relationships promote the former, while poor relationships guarantee the latter.

I’m concerned that it’s not only the youth who are losing their ability to build relationships due to technology. I’ve noticed a growing number of adults who use text and e-mail to carry out what should be relationship-building processes.

I love using text messaging for what it’s intended for – delivering information. For instance, I just now had a conversation over text with my massage therapist to change the time of our appointment tonight due to a conflict. Three texts got the job done and saved both of us time. However, I know there are people out there who carry on extended and deep conversations using only text or e-mail. Why? Because they don’t handle conflict well and it’s much “easier” to deal with it one-dimensionally rather than in person. Unfortunately, the consequences range from miscommunications to shattered relationships to the inability to hold meaningful conversations with humans when they most need to. It’s a severe lack of self-confidence.

If you don’t think this is a problem, watch your kids (or somebody else’s kids) texting habits. I’ve seen people text each other when they were in the same room! How about watching adults text incessantly at meetings? I’ve seen adults rudely holding texting conversations in the middle of a presentation. It’s on the verge of being out of control.

The bottom line is this…

Use technology to enhance your relationships, not hinder them. Use text to let someone know you are running late, not that you want to break up. Use Skype to meet online face to face, rather than sending an impersonal message. No matter where technology tales us, business is still built on relationships, and often needs more than 140 characters!

To read my last newsletter that I mentioned at the beginning of this article, click here.

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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