Andrew Badham 2024-11-19 13:55:00
To abbr. or not to abbreviate. The communication of our digital world is heavily based around texting, and we need to understand how the way we communicate with each other impacts our relationships. This study, published in October 2024, wanted to find out how using abbreviations might impact how sincere a sender looks and how likely a receiver is to respond.
Through a combination of surveys, field and lab studies and even archival conversations from Tinder, they found that abbreviations make us seem less sincere, and they make people less likely to respond to us. The researchers think that the use of abbreviations seems like a low-effort response.
Of course, at work, we know not to use abbreviations, right? Well, not necessarily. Business etiquette has relaxed over the years and left people wondering what is and isn’t appropriate, especially with the rise of instant messaging on platforms like Teams.
So, if this study’s findings are correct it shows that putting a little bit more effort into our writing might significantly improve the relationships between us and the people we write too. Remember: it’s not about sounding fancy; it’s about showing them that you took the time to take them seriously.