Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about you or your employees. For your convenience, I can meet with you and/or your staff at your workplace. Otherwise, we can arrange a complimentary telephone or web-conferencing meeting.

There are many different perspectives, values, and ethics attributable to each respective generation. As a communication trainer, I could not help but ponder the alternative communication approaches amongst the four groups and the subsequent challenges each group faces when stepping out of his or her own communication comfort zone.

With each passing day, communication methods evolve. Traditionalists and Baby Boomers have lived through massive communicative technological change: the advent of answering machines, voicemail, the revolutionary portable wireless phone, and now Smartphones and mobile devices. With that being said, these generations are still more comfortable with face-to-face interaction and telephone conversation.

Generation X and Millennials, on the other hand, take such technological advances for granted; thus, their comfort zone relative to technology is quite different. One such example comes in the form of texting: text messages happen before consideration of picking up a telephone, and responses to voicemail or email are circumvented in favor of a text.

These different preferences of communication modes bring potential conflict and challenges with intergenerational dialogues.

Furthermore, the pervasive use of texting directly impacts the written and vocal skills of Generation X and the Millennials. Texting and truncating messages for expediency and to meet character restrictions of micro-blogging platforms, such as Twitter, have altered spelling, abbreviations, and punctuation. Additionally, fewer opportunities to polish vocal communication skills required in telephone and face-to-face conversations place many employees of these generations at a disadvantage.

The onset of such technologies raises questions about how we should "advance." It is generally believed that hand-written letters, face-to-face dialogues, and voice-to-voice conversations should not be completely discarded in favor of the less personal, one-dimensional modes of communication such as Facebook, Twitter, and even e-mail. However, not all technology is one-dimensional: advancements, such as Skype and video-conferencing, provide a more personal touch.

We should embrace the new technology but realize its limitations; few things beat face-to-face communication and the precious interpersonal skills that are developed through that medium.

For more information about Millennials in the workplace, see this video.