Tonight I was sitting on the couch responding to emails with my daughter sitting next to me. She noticed that I was mostly using TextExpander to respond, and she was surprised. If you aren't familiar with this tool, it's a way to save and reuse repetitive responses. For example, as you may know, from time to time I offer a DISC communication assessment for free. After taking the assessment, the user is automatically sent a 22-page report. However, I sometimes receive an email asking if I can resend the report. Instead of responding each time by just saying, "Check your spam folder," I prefer to use TextExpander to respond. I simply type a short abbreviation I have stored ( in this case "disc") and like magic, the text I have pre-written appears on the screen. Here's what shows up:
Thanks for your question about your DISC assessment. The report is sent to the email address that you entered just prior to starting the assessment. Please look in your spam folder for an email from our assessment partner—Innermetrix—the email they send from is: [email protected]. If you still can't find it, we can locate and resend it. However, because we prefer to keep your results private, it is preferred that you try to locate the report that was sent directly to you first.
Please let us know if you still can't find your report based on the above information. We Will be happy to assist
Lisa
When my daughter saw what I was doing, she said, "Mom, that's cheating! Wouldn't it be better (and just as fast) if you just wrote: "Check your spam"? Then she started reading many of my other responses. She felt like using this tool was insincere and inauthentic communication. She felt strongly that since I had pre-written these responses the communication couldn't possibly be authentic. She said, "Aren't you supposed to be a good communicator?"She raised an interesting question. I found myself being defensive: "Well if I didn't use this tool, I'd spend most of my day answering emails. This tool allowed me to communicate more effectively and efficiently." However, there was a lingering question...is the communication authentic? I'm not really sure. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below or on my Facebook page.
