The foundation of Communication
There are two elements with communication
A START - A RESPONSE
When we are in the same place we understand, seemingly without effort, whether a communication represents THE START of a conversation, or more commonly a RESPONSE to one ongoing.
That understanding comes from many clues: body language, tone, referencing something previously alluded to and so on. Almost everything adds context.
When communicating with people digitally we're usually not in the same locality. We are robbed of this additional context. We have to learn the methods and conventions which help give digital conversations that additional context.
For example: you have learnt that when someone starts a conversation by email, that responding with a "reply" is better than starting anew. Replying by starting in a new email would be user error.
A less basic example would be Twitter retweets. The Retweet button no longer in the first instance retweets to your followers. It now, first appends the tweet and prompts for additional user input, with space for a message. This is now a quote tweet format, which for many users has muddied how one should reply on the platform. This confusion will reduce as users learn and platform culture adapts.
The continual need to learn, with new communication methods, is difficult for adults. It can prevent some being comfortable enough to try something new.
My top communication tip
Go back to basics. Are you responding or starting a new discussion?
Make that as clear as you can.
