I imagine that decades ago, there were a lot of stomach butterflies when placing phone calls or breaking certain news in person. As someone who has had to hold a lot of difficult conversations in person, I have gotten pretty good at them. I steel myself beforehand and just remind myself that it will soon be over.

I remember the first person I had to fire. He was actually a volunteer research assistant. I had caught him stealing and was completely shocked by that. But I pulled the bandaid because that was what was needed. It was not fun to do, but I was efficient and compassionate. Go figure. I really try always keep that MO.

Despite being able to hold such conversations, I still get a bit jittery when sending a difficult email or text. Which is such a strange dynamic. Why should that be?

Well, one such reason is probably because you have no facial or voice cues to go off of. How will the person react? When will they react? It’s that waiting period that is most unnerving. What, when, how? Those questions run through your head as you type up what you need to say. You hesitate to hit the send button. You re-read the message to make sure it says what you want it to say. You wonder if you really need to say those words or even send the message. Of course, things are better said in person but not all communications can occur that way.

The technology that was to make communication instant can actually work in an opposite manner. The jitters possibly enhanced. Oh my.