Hello there! Good morning and hope you are well and that the sun is shining over you!
It has been a while since I last posted to this blog. The past few weeks have been filled with a whirlwind trip to Mumbai, and then a chilling return to the coldest winter in thirty years in the UK.
Picking up from where I left off in the last post, today, we'll talk about a key element in human interaction that is often missing in human-computer interaction and in digital resources created for e-learning – the friendly touch. What does this really mean, and why is the human touch necessary for positive, gainful, interaction? Some recent research sheds more light on the subject.
“A warm touch seems to set off the release of oxytocin, a hormone that helps create a sensation of trust, and to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol”.
Aha. This is something that perhaps we all instinctively know and understand. Yet, isn't it amazing how the human touch is often missing in the way we communicate, and in the way we create learning for the new age.
For those of us whose bread and butter often depends on hours spent on a machine that has become a much revered family member , and who like me, must work in virtual teams and do not often experience the joy of face to face communication with the project team, this becomes a critical factor in how we work together as a team and cooperate and collaborate. Ever thought about how the tone of your email can change with a simple greeting at the start?
So I’ve been thinking about this a lot. About the need to change the way we communicate, both online and offline, in a way that metaphorically at least, communicates the human touch. Very much a design issue don’t you think?
