Pick Up The Phone

Emails and texts are great but, sadly, not a great way to communicate.

Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

Find the written versions of these podcasts on John's podcasting site: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1628038

"The Grasshopper" is the part of you that whispers pearls of wisdom that  seem to pop into your mind from out of the blue. John's essays and blog posts are his interpretations of these "Nips of Nectar." Others have labeled his writings as timeless wisdom. 

Most of the John's writings revolve around self improvement and self help. They address topics like:

• Mindfulness
• Peace of mind
• Creativity
• How to stay in the present moment
• Spirituality
• Behavior improvement

And stories that transform you to a wider sense of awareness that presents more options. And isn't that what we all want, more options? 

John uploads these podcasts on a regular basis. So check back often to hear these podcasts heard around the world. Who wants to be the next person to change? 

Make sure to order a copy of John's new book: WISDOM OF THE GRASSHOPPER – 21 Days to Creativity. These mini-meditations take you inside where all your creative resources live. And you'll come out not only refreshed but recommitted to creating your future. 

It's only $16.95 and available at BLURB.COM at the link below. https://www.blurb.com/b/10239673-wisd...

Also, download John's FREE book INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change. It's available at John's website  https://GrasshopperNotes.com

Transcript

Pick Up The Phone

Today’s recording is actually a rant, one that actually has a benefit. Here goes. I have a love/hate relationship with email and texts.

I love the convenience of getting a message to someone right away and receiving a rapid response; I hate how imprecise and misconstrued these messages can get.

One culprit for miscommunication is punctuation. I’m not a full-blown punctuation snob because I make enough punctuation errors not to be qualified to offer criticism, but critical I am. Call me old school, but lack of punctuation plays a factor in miscommunication in shorter form messages like texts and tweets. The lack of commas and periods leaves the door wide open for head scratching.

Here's an example:

“An old dog can’t learn new tricks can he learn some old ones before trying new ones.”

How many ways can you punctuate the aforementioned communication and get a different message? Let’s try two different versions.

1. “An old dog can’t learn new tricks, can he? Learn some old ones before trying new ones.”

2. “An old dog can’t learn new tricks. Can he learn some old ones before trying new ones?”

The first one is a question and a directive; the second is an assertion and a question.

The point isn’t punctuation, but expediency. Even if all your I’s are dotted and your T’s are crossed, there's still lots of room for misinterpretation in a written piece of communication. If you need a textbook example, just look at the number of contested wills that were carefully constructed by some highly educated and highly skilled people.

Rather than write a long email response to someone, pick up the phone or have an in person meeting whenever possible. It'll save you the time you spend miscommunicating back and forth in a text.

A tone can be read into keystroked words that isn’t actually there. That may cause feathers to fly when someone was just attempting to be wry.

I love texts and emails; I just hate their limitations.

Here’s my suggestion: If it’s important, pick up the damn phone.

All the best,

John