Switch off, tune out, recharge: leave the phone at home?
Have you ever wanted to switch off the phone; do nothing or just go back to the old ways of doing things? If you hadn’t noticed already face-to-face networking; calling people on the phone and actually having a conversation is back. It has been much hyped recently on the back of a negative reaction to too much talk about Twitter and various social media networks. But fancy the idea of promoting the art of conversation: I can almost see and feel the raised eyebrows and despairing sigh of John Humphreys on the BBC’s Today programme.
But it’s true; people hide behind email and online communications. Yes, we can’t move away from the web and email, but must not rely upon it. Too many account executives in PR and marketing don’t talk to clients or journalists on the phone. You can’t pick up intonation or tone properly via an email; you need to hear the emotion to understand what a client needs, not just what they want. Heaven forbid that journalists start to rely on email and forget to talk.
So, that’s why it is vital to tune out, unplug (to misquote Gil Scott Heron) and switch off once in a while. I admit to being old fashioned, but reading a newspaper or book as a hard copy print (not online or via a kindle) is a great way to relax, unwind and learn some information. It’s not downtime to switch off. It’s recharging batteries. That’s why I am looking forward to my holiday in two weeks. It’s why I have been harassing Chris Hall to leave his phone at home when he goes on holiday – check #leavethephoneathome.
It’s why we all need to remember that our phones, Blackberry, laptops etc are not actually a physical appendage and that we can do something else. Gil Scott Heron might have been right when he said the revolution will not be televised, but it is going to be online. The thing is, it can wait whilst you go on holiday. So remember; don’t pack anything that connect to the internet when you go on holiday. Don’t take the weight of that stuff with you, it slows you down just when you need a break. Switch off.
When you swicth back on remember, that as Bob Hoskins once said: it’s good to talk.
Tags: #leavethephoneathome, recharge, switch off, tune out
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