Typing Our Stories on Purpose

Photo by Alli Koch

One of my favorite Father's Day gifts is my 1906 Underwood typewriter. As a storyteller, I can appreciate the number of stories told on this mechanical work of art. What does not escape me is the exciting fact that nearly 120 years later, we are still, for the most part, typing our stories.
 
Have you paused to consider the typing climate within organizations? Last year we collectively typed out 306 billion emails PER DAY. Additionally, we type out over six billion text messages each day. The typing climate is part of what I refer to as the Sync Up Story within the organization's larger ethos. Each day we experience the Sync Up Story through a wide variety of systems, processes, and policies, each one telling a unique story of its own, forming our mental frameworks for how we interpret our world.
 
Our typing climate becomes a meaningful part of the overall cultural story through the typed words and the typing experience. As much as I love a written story, much of what is typed lacks the necessary tonality and emotion required to interpret the narrative entirely.

For an author, it is high praise when a reader comments on a scene in your book that brought them to tears or made them laugh out loud. This is not to say 306 billion emails need to become novellas; please no! Writing with tone and emotion for the reader's benefit is possible using just a few words but requires intentionality on the writer's part. Yet, some narratives would significantly benefit from the tonality or emotion of our voice.

So, what is the takeaway as we type our way through yet another day? Consider tone as you type. You may not realize it, but you type with tonality in mind. Likewise, people read in tone. Unfortunately, many times the typed tone doesn't align with the reader's tone leading to misinterpretation. Additionally, we should regularly consider the power of a story told in person.
 
It is not a stretch to predict we may experience our typing-climate diminishing within a generation, giving way to a voice/video climate as the predominant communication schema. Oh, and the irony of a typed post about typing is not lost on me. Even so, I am sanguine there will always be the need for a few thoughtfully typed words. While my Underwood typewriter has been officially retired from everyday use, I am optimistic that my modern-day QWERTY keyboard and I have a few words left to type into stories, hopefully with just the right tone:-).

#people #writing #experience #communication #writer #purpose #culture #authorlife