Train the Brave, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 17Talk more; type less

After 14 months of marriage, actor Russell Brand sent a text message to pop star Katy Perry to say he wanted a divorce. While I'm sure he was very busy that day, I would have thought he could have spared a few minutes to give her a call. Or maybe I'm just old fashioned!

As revolutionising as technology has been in our lives, it's also become an all-too-convenient way of avoiding the real work of meaningful communication when it matters most. Whether discussing something that's upset us, or letting someone know we want to end a relationship, our innate aversion to confrontation combined with the sheer convenience of digital communication drives people to typing when they really should be talking.

OUR DEVICES CATER TO COWARDICE. DON'T HIDEBEHIND ONE JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN.

Too often we take the easy, and often cowardly, option of hiding behind our digital devices — email, text messaging or social media — rather than braving the raw discomfort of either picking up the phone or, better still, sitting down and having a good old-fashioned face-to-face conversation. Indeed, when it comes to having an awkward or difficult conversation, nothing can ever replace a real, face-to-face, human-to-human conversation. So while texting, instant messaging and emailing are brilliant tools for communicating efficiently, they can be very blunt ones when used inappropriately. Ask Katy.

NOTHING REPLACES REAL, OLD-FASHIONED-STYLECONVERSATION.

Not long ago, a woman ...