As we climb into the second quarter of the 21st century …

Here are some wild communication changes over the past quarter century that have had – and will continue to have – a huge impact on your professional & personal lives.

1️⃣   Fading Face-to-Face Chats: Remember when we used to talk in person without a smartphone glued to our brains/hands/table? Now, we wave “hello” through screens instead of shaking hands— except, of course, for all those Zoom meetings where we somehow still forget to unmute.

2️⃣   Texting Takeover: If you had told me in the ‘90s that people would prefer texting over talking, I would have laughed. Yet, here we are. Texting has become the universal language, blasted with abbreviations, GIFs, and a sprinkle of confusion.

3️⃣   Social Media Explosion: Social media went from a novel way to share pet pictures to a sprawling universe where opinions fly faster than light. Each platform has its own etiquette, and one wrong tweet or post can ignite a wildfire. Sharing dinner pics can connect us, airing grievances on public forums can create permanent discord.

4️⃣   Rise of Virtual Reality: Virtual reality has gone wild— where else could you attend a meeting while sipping coffee in your pajamas (well at least the bottom half of your attire)? This shift offers interaction unlike any other while also minimizing the need for business travel, conferences and association meetings.

5️⃣   Computers on Your Wrist: Our attention span now rivals that of a gnat. It’s hard to focus on anything for more than 17 seconds. All you have to do is look at your Apple Watch (while pretending to be at your online meeting) to scroll texts (see above), emails, weather, social media (see above) and your calendar.

6️⃣   AI: Don’t let slop rule. See my blog on 2025’s Word of the Year!

Get ready for the next quarter century. Have a good Wi-Fi connection.

PS: I’m thankful for you and I look forward to hanging out with you on Wednesday mornings in 2026. Happy and Healthy New Year!

Photo credit: Chat GPT (see above!)