The High Cost of Poor Communication

Abstract

Communication potential abounds: e‐mail zips from office to office; electronic calendars search a building of people, coming up with a common date, and scheduling it for the masses; acquaintances from across the state or nation no longer play telephone tag—they “talk” at their convenience via the Internet. But are we really communicating? Are we breaking down barriers or constructing more substantial ones—ones that are being made impenetrable because we no longer are able subconsciously to analyze body language or casually change the subject when tensions mount?