Weekly Business Insights from Top Ten Business Magazines | Week 304 | Leading & Managing | 2

Extractive summaries and key takeaways from the articles curated from TOP TEN BUSINESS MAGAZINES to promote informed business decision-making | Week 304 | July 7-13, 2023.

Amid Growing AI, Humanize Communication to Strengthen Relationships

Handwritten notes can help build authentic connections in an era when digital communication is everywhere.

By Cole Clark | MIT Sloan Management Review | July 03, 2023

Listen to the Extractive Summary of the Article

AI entered a new era when artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT became available to the public at large.  And it’s poised to profoundly change daily life within organizations in many ways, particularly in the sphere of communication.

More than ever, when people receive texts, emails, or other digital messages, they have reason to wonder whether an actual human being wrote them. ChatGPT is even being used to write custom messages to individual executives on LinkedIn. In response, tools are being created to help people determine whether a message was really written by a human.  The net result is clear: When it comes to digital communication, we’re unlikely to trust most “personal” digital messages for a while to come. This is why, in working to build authentic relationships, sidestepping technology altogether has newfound power.

There have always been people who prefer to write business notes by hand, but it’s never before carried such a significant connotation — that a real person has taken the time to write out a personalized message rather than choosing an easier option. And a recent study shows how powerful that can be: Researchers from business schools at the University of Maryland and Yonsei University in South Korea found that “presenting a handwritten note has a positive and significant effect on customer spending” and that “warmth underlies the key findings.”  A similar principle applies to internal communication within organizations as well.

Writing notes by hand may not be the right move for everyone — such as if someone’s penmanship is particularly difficult to read. But there are other ways to personalize communication, including creating videos or voice memos tailored to a specific individual, or even leaving a voicemail if a phone call goes unanswered.

The key is to always be on the lookout for ways to emphasize our humanity in our communications. The more we do that, the less of an interloper AI will be in our relationships — and the more authentic and rewarding they’ll become.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. AI entered a new era when artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT became available to the public at large.  And it’s poised to profoundly change daily life within organizations in many ways, particularly in the sphere of communication.
2. More than ever, when people receive texts, emails, or other digital messages, they have reason to wonder whether an actual human being wrote them.  There have always been people who prefer to write business notes by hand, but it’s never before carried such a significant connotation — that a real person has taken the time to write out a personalized message rather than choosing an easier option.  A similar principle applies to internal communication within organizations as well.
3. The key is to always be on the lookout for ways to emphasize our humanity in our communications. 

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Topics:  Communication, Technology, Artificial Intelligence