Texting, Letterwriting And A Teachable Moment…

It was a simple request this week from a student…then two, then ten…to clarify something on an assignment. “You ask us to use ‘the text,’ but what are you referring to because I don’t see it anywhere?” The evolving neuance of references rises again, and it served as a teachable moment.

TEXT- to someone thirty or younger DOES NOT mean the book…aka the ‘textbook,’ on first glance it means a message we are sending on a mobile device or something in short written bursts that are key to the assignment.

Note to self. change the wording when talking about a mulitpage, printed document to TEXTBOOK going forward.

Fun lesson learned by the old guy.

We received the message several times, and I am a believer that if you hear about something randomly (and listening again is so key) maybe it’s a random thought. If you hear about something three times maybe its becoming something buzzworthy…if you hear about something four or five times…and once is from the pulpit…maybe it is really a thing. So TEXT vs Textbook as a point of clarification, became a thing.

Another case in point on the text side is letterwriting, its value, and its becoming a lost form of communication that surprisingly can help anyone cut through the email and text and social post glut that we are all so used to.

I have been a subscriber to a service call Letterjoy for some time…every week I get a hand written copy of a letter with the original text and then the backstory of its significance. I have learned more about the influence of Benedict Arnold to the mindset of Werner von Braun to the works of Clara Barton to the anguish of Emmet Till’s mother, all because the writing is original deeply personal and is in the prose of the day. It gives me a chance to learn, to think, and to literally witness history for the first time.

So that’s two.

I was listening to Robin Roberts’ Masterclass on authentic communication. One way she strongly suggests people following up? Send me a hand written thoughtful note I can revisit and review. Too many emails, but a note? There is a way to cut through all the junk mail we receive.

OK another one. Saturday night I attended mass at St. John The Baptist in Hillsdale, New Jersey. Our pastor, Reverend Monsignor Peter  Smutelovic, always has a great way of relating messages. His homily? About how the historic, handwritten letters of long ago prophets…let’s call them influencers…continued to inspire and be relatable today, and how in the loss of traditional letter writing, that personal communication is being lost.

So what’s the deal? Do we need to abandon all forms of the great tools we have for reaching a global audience and just go back to pen and paper? Nope.  However if you are looking for a way to cut through the clutter, express your own descriptive voice in written form, or just do a special thank you, maybe card and letter writing should be part of the time challenged regimen. The handwritten notes of world leaders still resonate much more then the emails and texts that can be lost, and lose their nuance with quickly scribbled thoughts.  What still brings a bit of shock and awe and inspiration are those flowing words, no matter how simple, that were done with pen or pencil and paper. I know one or two colleagues, one being Dr. Harvey Schiller, who always found the time to send handwritten birthday cards to people. Simple but thoughtful and memorable. Now I wish I actually did that more than just scrolling through Facebook birthdays, and I probably should, but Dr. Schiller always said that those notes were saved, and revered, for years, and often times were the first thing that people brought up upon his next interaction with them.

So write this down…letter writing and card sending seems to be a thing again…or at least it should be. For those looking to gain an edge, try it out. For those who need a break from the mundane and a way to jog memory, a card or two is not a bad idea either.

Now just practice that cursive and remember the difference between texts and a textbook.

Note to self…written or sent by mobile device.