The High Cost of Poor Communication

Communication potential abounds: e-mail zips from office to office; electronic calendars search a building of people, coming up with a common date, and scheduling it for the masses; acquaintances from across the state or nation no longer play telephone tag-they "talk" at their convenience via the Internet. But are we really communicating? Are we breaking down barriers or constructing more substantial ones-ones that are being made impenetrable because we no longer are able subconsciously to analyze body language or casually change the subject when tensions mount?