With every sunrise we are given plenty of new examples of people
"Hitting Send" and soon regretting it. Social media means what it says:
it is social! Our methods of communication today allow for something to
potentially be broadcast to everyone from Pekin, Illinois to Peking,
China. But it’s not only Twitter fanatics who can find themselves in
trouble. Every single one of us is capable of falling prey to this
growing plague.
Every day we have the potential of both verbal and
written blunders. It makes no difference if we are talking to a
stranger over a meat counter, chatting on a cell phone with our mother,
or sending an e-mail to a coworker; we can and do miscommunicate and
people can and do get the wrong idea. When we don't pause long enough to
think before speaking or writing, it commonly yields a misunderstanding
and leads to a clash. We end up being the person who said, "You know
that sphere of the brain that stops you from saying something that you
shouldn't? Well, I don’t have one of those."
This book is about
preventing that misunderstanding and allowing for understanding. Said
another way, preempting people from getting the wrong idea and enabling
them to get the right idea! We all need work in this area in far more
ways than just glancing through a checklist.
From external examples to internal turmoil, Before You Hit Send is about the four things we must think through before communicating. In all things we wish to say or write, we would be wise to ask ourselves,
- Is it true?
- Is it kind?
- Is it necessary?
- Is it clear?
When
we ask and answer these four questions honestly, we will be thinking
wisely before we speak. But to explore this fully, we need to find out a
whole lot more about ourselves and uncover why we consciously and
subconsciously get into these communication disasters to begin with.
You may be surprised what you discover about yourself. Shall we begin?
240 pages
