What’s Irritating About Text Messages?

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The last three weeks I’ve reported on what my polling of people resulted in their dislikes about video conferencing, and emailing. Today’s post is about what is irritating regarding text messages.

When people:

  • Text back-and-forth when a simple conversation in person or on the phone would be more efficient
  • Utilize too many abbreviations or they use slang or nonwords
  • Write back so quickly that I feel obligated to write back to them quickly; when they exaggerate the urgency
  • Assume my phone plan accepts the messages
  • Don’t respond
  • Send unimportant messages
  • Do noncritical texting during a meeting
  • Drive and text
  • Send information that I need to retain
  • Overuse it and will communicate only this way
  • Send long messages that should be put into e-mails
  • Assume I am available to respond 24/7 (they are obsessed with connectivity)
  • Use bad grammar
  • Read and respond to texts while I am talking to them
  • Leave the notification sound on in public places
  • Send text messages that are so long that it takes two or three separate messages

These all make sense yet it so easy to fall into the habit of doing one or more so this is a reminder to you and me to refrain.

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Debra Benton

D.A. (Debra) Benton has been helping great individuals and organizations get even better for over 20 years. Just as exceptional athletes rely on excellent coaching to hone their skills, Debra's clients rely on her advice to advance their careers. She focuses on what is truly important to convert what you and your organization want to be from a vision into a reality. TopCEOCoaches.com ranks her in the World's Top 10 CEO Coaches noting she is the top female. And as conference keynote speaker she is routinely rated in the top 2%. Her client list reads like a “Who's Who” of executives in companies ranging from Microsoft, McDonald's, Kraft, American Express, Merrill Lynch, United Airlines, and PricewaterhouseCoopers to the Washington Beltway and U.S.Border Patrol. *She is the author of ten award-winning and best-selling business books including The Virtual Executive and CEO Material. She has written for the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Fast Company. She has been featured in USA Today, Fortune, The New York Times, and Time; she has appeared on Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, and CBS with Diane Sawyer. To learn more Debra advising leaders, coaching, facilitating a workshop, or speaking: www.debrabenton.com

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