Telephone Tough

 I heard the term telephone tough used on the radio. The host dropped it on a caller who was flapping their gums about some nonsense. As I listened and laughed, it reminded me of how often people hide behind emails, texts, anonymous blog posts, etc. People hide behind their devices for one reason; somewhere in their mind, they believe they are right or are avoiding face-to-face conflict. We all know from experience that hiding only heightens conflict, as there is a lack of total communication. All I know is what I see in your words. I can assume the tone and cannot see any body language. Remember, the breakdown on total communication is 7% words, 38% tone, and 55% body language, or 93% of any communication dialog gets lost when being telephone tough, and I cannot recall any time where being telephone tough left me with a good feeling. There was always some collateral damage. Now, I choose to pick up the phone, and after I say hi, the next string of words, “way too much is getting lost or misinterpreted in the texting/emails so I’m calling to talk. Skip the urge to be telephone tough. Make the call, use FaceTime, and or go see them.