We can ignore everyone if we wanted to. We can turn off our ringers, filter our emails and unhook from all the social media venues.
But the reality is we don’t. We all pick how we want to be connected. But the one thing we don’t do is disconnect. And the second thing we do is pick certain ways we like to connect.
Some people you can ping with a Tweet and they will tweet back. Others work largely by email. Most text and will carry a conversation there privately.
The key is not communicating according to your preferences, but to think individually. You have to observe and connect personally the way your recipients like.
It goes along with the reality that mass anything does not work so well. In fact, once we detect you are not talking to us, but to everyone, we tune out.
Your best bet is to do the hard work of getting attention and engagement in a personal way one person at a time. Yes, it’s more work on your part. It may take away your perceived efficiency of using a certain approach. But was it that efficient anyways?
You are not going to win everyone. You are looking to connect and grow fertile relationships with those who really matter. And everyone does not matter.
Be human. Do the hard work of building human connections. In the months and years ahead, you will reap the benefits of people staying tuned in.
