Dangers of Digital Communications

What does my research say? I applied a constant comparative coding method to transcript data from interviews, comparing the responses to conflict in virtual teams (VTs) and face-to-face teams (FTFTs). This analysis was triangulated by a deductive model. Both methods corroborated the increased levels of negative responses to conflicts in VTs as compared to FTFTs, resulting in adverse impacts to productivity.

The negative outcomes and susceptibility to conflict may be related to disparate communication characteristics of both mediums. While VTs and FTFTs had similar levels of positive and neutral characteristics, VTs exhibited more than three times the frequency of negative communications characteristics. What does that mean in plain language?

In a nutshell, in-person and virtual interactions have their ups and downs. However, greater care must be taken with virtual (especially digital) communications to prevent things from going off the rails. For most of you, this comes as no surprise. You've experienced this digital turmoil in your personal and professional lives. Without reference points and nuance such as tone, real-time body and facial language, immediate clarifications and corrections, and so on, misunderstandings and misguided assumptions can erupt into hard feelings, more entrenchment, and a degradation of productivity and relationship harmony.

The clincher is that the worse a digital conflict gets, the lower the chances of resolving it digitally.

That is where I come in! Like seeing in the dark using night goggles, I don my dispute-lens to readily identify the sticking points, potential triggers, and anything else that is likely to work against your best interests in your digital missives. Not to say that your emotions aren't valid! But when emotions tempt us to either pick up the boxing gloves or abandon our needs and boundaries, they can undermine resolution.