The Conference Coach™

Carolyn Bradfield

I like to stay on top of what’s going on in the world.  I’m a total “newsie” checking in with every local and national channel available to me.  Sometimes I following a world event like the tragedy in Haiti and other times it may be something that seems small that has a big impact on how I feel about the world around me.

A story on World News Tonight struck me the other day.  It seems that research has shown that the average middle school student spends over 75 hours a week engaging with media – music, texting, gaming, TV, Facebook occupying most of their time.  In addition, 2 hours daily are devoted to the cell phone with an hour and a half of those spent texting.   Only 38 minutes A WEEK is devoted to reading.  Even less time is spent just talking to someone.

The same research also shows that students who engage with their electronics don’t do that well in school.  47% get bad grades compared to 23% who moderate their consumption.  Media consumption drops by an average of 3 hours a day if parents make the effort to set guidelines with their child’s grades going up.  If my 15-year old stepdaughter is any indication, then this research is absolutely dead on.  The iPhone is never far from her fingers and she must check it 20 times an hour for the latest from her friends.  Hours are spent alone in her room on Facebook or on the Internet.

I worry about what type of workforce we’re creating when these texters and Facebook fanatics get old enough for jobs.  With the large number of young people at Copper Conferencing, I’ve started to pay much more attention to the impact of their electronic habits.   For simplicity sake, let’s give this generation a name that describes them – The “Text-X Generation” will suit me for now.

My Text-X group has some positive attributes.  They are unafraid of anything relating to the Internet.  They know how to determine which organizations are best suited for Copper Conferencing and who to talk to.  They are unafraid of all types of web conferencing, easily logging in and holding Internet meetings and remote sales calls.   They think of creative ways to use social media to get Copper’s business message across.

However, I am concerned.  I hear the instant messaging chimes go off dozens of times in an hour where someone has the “tyranny of the urgent” and sends an I/M about everything that’s on the top of their mind.  I worry about the distraction this creates for them and the message’s recipient.  I worry about how many times a day someone checks or posts to Facebook and what’s on their “news feed.”

More than that, I worry about Text-X’s ability to know when a conversation is warranted vs. an email or instant message.  Maybe we should consider the research study that indicates the most successful students are those that spend less time with their electronics.  I think that is also true in business.

The conferencing industry has helped companies and managers shift from the memo and the “directive” to conversation and collaboration.   It’s the art of the conversation, the relationship, the discussion, the collaboration that I believe continues and will continue to breed success in business.    Although I think we should embrace the increase in our knowledge and use of instant media, I think that we also need to instill a balanced diet in our respective organizations.

At Copper, this is made a little easier because we use our services to hold meetings, strategy sessions and trainings over our conferencing technology.  We focus on getting people’s feedback, drawing them into the conversation and asking for their opinion.  My commitment is to go above and beyond that to help Text-X become more balanced.

First, I am going to coach the management team to stop responding to all instant messages and to request that their people set a meeting to talk about issues and requests that are important but not urgent.  I’m going to randomly monitor Facebook and ask people to stop checking and posting during work hours.   I’m going to help people resolve issues or conflicts in person vs. email messages.

And parents, if you have a Text-X kid at home, take a lesson from the research.  They are way less likely to succeed in school if you don’t take the time to set boundaries.  And, I’m going to project that they are going to be way less likely to succeed on the job if they don’t develop the skill set needed to express themselves with others without needing a keyboard to do the talking.  It’s up to all of us to help our Text-X group live a much more balanced existence.

To learn more about what’s new at Copper and how audio conferencing and web conferencing services can help you improve your business and cut costs, contact a Conference Coach today.