Category Archives: Interpersonal Communication

The “Right” Way to Multitask?

I was in the Verizon store picking up an iPhone for my son, when I saw that one of its touted features was improved multitasking. Knowing what research says about how multitasking slows you down and interferes with the quality and accuracy of what you’re doing, I was intrigued.  But thinking more about this, I…

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Why We Miss Secretaries

While we’re celebrating Administrative Professionals Week, I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the things many of us have lost as we take care of everything ourselves. The independence is great — who would want to go back to the old days of dictation or writing everything out by hand for someone…

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Catching Up with Your Friends on Facebook — Literally

I gave a speech on Sunday at the 30th Annual Conference on the First Year Experience — an organization of professionals who help students adjust to the college experience.  I was telling them about the workshops I’ve been giving to college students called “Thriving on Campus and in Cyberspace: Staying Connected While Succeeding in School,”…

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Are We Connecting More But Communicating Less?

Recent statistics say that cell phones are now being used more frequently for data (e.g., texting, web surfing) than for phone calls. This has led me to think more and more about trends in interpersonal communication in general.  Until recently, almost all communication was face-to-face. To be sure, earlier civilizations had smoke signals, carrier pigeons,…

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