Today's fast-paced and data-saturated world has really changed how people communicate with each other. In the past, people relied on face-to-face interactions, phone calls, and letter sending; nowadays, people communicate by email, by text, by chat, and even by video conference.

The boundaries between places have disappeared - no more days of waiting for a letter to be received by someone halfway around the world. Now, you can simply go online and send an email that the other person can get instantly.

But has this new technology really improved the way people communicate, or made it worse? At the time when we are able to reach more and more people in the shortest amount of time, are we really communicating more effectively and personally, or has it resulted in more miscommunications, more misunderstandings, and the lack of a personal touch in how we communicate?

Sometimes, it seems that every step for technology is a step backward for personal and effective communication. Instead of meeting with clients personally to discuss their concerns, we decide that chat or email is enough to address their problems. Instead of calling a friend to express our sympathy, we decide that text is enough to convey our message.

In the fast-paced environment of today, people tend to listen less, respond too fast, not pay attention, and easily get distracted. Instead of communicating effectively, the message we want to deliver easily gets lost because we are in a rush to get it out.

Even in our business interactions. Since we want to reach more people in a shorter span of time, we tend to send out mass emails or mass text campaigns. But though you may have been able to reach a huge quantity of people in an instant, is the quality of the responses you received really what you were aiming for?

People buy from those they trust, so can a mass email campaign really obtain the trust of your consumers? What if you added a more personal touch to your campaigns, made it more relevant to your consumers, won't that lead to a more favorable response that you were aiming for?

Maybe it's time that we pay more attention to how we communicate. It's not enough that we deliver our message; people should be able to receive and respond to it well. And instead of being business-like and impersonal, we could take the time to add a more personal touch to our communications, as people like knowing that they're talking or communicating with real people, not with impersonal machines.

The key to better communication in this fast-paced world is to take the time to compose your messages well. Think it through, and add your personal touch. Be more relevant, and always be open and honest.

If you can take the time to call someone rather than text, do so. If you can take the time to meet with a client rather than simply chat, then that would be infinitely better. The technology of today has really made communicating with others a lot easier and convenient, but there's still no better way to convey your message than with a personal, face-to-face interaction.

So don't let your message get lost in interpretation. Make sure to communicate more effectively and personally, and you're sure to get a better response.

Maria Elena Duron, CEO (chief engagement officer), buzz2bucks | a word of mouth marketing firm, is skilled at making networks "work" and harnessing powerful online and offline buzz, she facilitates online visibility services and word of mouth coaching and workshops - taking companies and professionals from buzz-worthy to bucks-worthy, http://buzz2bucks.com.