#Workhard #Communicatehard

According to the Census Bureau you are considered a Millennial if you were born between 1981 and 2000. If you were born before 1981 and want to be able to communicate in this digital age, then you need to do so like a millennial. It was recently pointed out to me that by putting two spaces before starting a new sentence was really showing my age and in an effort to communicate more like a millennial, I would have to adapt their behaviors.

Why do we care how we communicate? We should all care because millennials have overtaken Baby Boomers as America's largest generation, with a predicted 81 million millennials in 2036, according to Pew Research Center. As millennials enter the workforce, we'll need to keep up with their way of communicating.

We're seeing the increase of less formal, more engaging communication between co-workers with platforms like Workplace by Facebook, Slack or Yammer. These apps are changing the way organizations communicate internally.

If you are a millennial, this is probably old news. If you are not a millennial, the new tools and technology can be terrifying. Here are some suggestions and tips to help you manage the transition to effective millennial communication:

• 24/7 communication: Smartphones have made around the clock communication a reality and in sales, the early bird gets the proverbial worm. Nontraditional work schedules are becoming more common in business.

• Use phone calls sparingly: With millennials, phones aren't used for phone calls anymore. Similar to how we stopped sending telegrams once the telephone was introduced. The biggest reason has to do with time and efficiency.

• Instant gratification: We are at a turning point where consumers are demanding goods, services and information delivered anytime, anywhere. Take Amazon Prime Air for example - packages delivered in 30 minutes with the use of drones. The testing has already begun in several international markets.

• Keep it brief; limit text: The focus is on getting the job done quickly, accurately and effectively. It should be short and to the point to capture maximum attention. People are busy and sometimes only have time to review a few bullet points.

• Be interactive, not Static: Remember, a picture is worth 1,000 words: Use icons, images or video to communicate key value points. You've got about 8 seconds to capture attention, so make it count with colorful illustrations, multiracial figures representing both genders in casual clothing.

• Use humor: Laughter can be the best medicine, especially if used correctly. Humor can increase your credibility as is it a clever way to show you're relaxed. Jokes (please no offensive jokes) can make you seem more confident or can change how people see you. If you're a soft-spoken introvert and you insert a dry, super-funny one liner, you can up your influence. Some topics are off limit: race, gender, age, national origin, politics and disabilities are not funny.

• Email won't die: Email communication remains entrenched as a trusted form of communication among consumers, with over 205 billion emails a day. Email is still considered a primary mode of communication, which will be slow to change.

Millennial communication is behaving as it would be expected; given that most millennials don't remember a time without a phone or computer.

Organizations and employers have the obligation to understand and adopt this form of communication. It's necessary so they can engage and capture the attention of this vital and growing segment of the workforce.

BTW, you can AMA and TBH if it's NSFW, NVM. Please go to FB and LMS. TY.

• Mary Sprow is director of sales at Topgolf Naperville.