If we’re talking and you turn to a screen, I’m going to completely stop talking until you turn back.
Point blank.
Here’s why:
A) Something popped into your mind that you felt was more important than our conversation, so I’m not going to distract you while you handle whatever it was that couldn’t wait. And I’m either going to postpone our conversation until you’re done or standby awkwardly until you’re ready to continue.
B) You decided the conversation wasn’t worth your undivided attention and so you divided it to keep yourself maximally stimulated. Now, since 1) multi-tasking is a myth, 2) most communication happens visually, 3) I’m not interested in repeating myself and/or having a throttled conversation—I’m going to do us both a favor and stop communicating altogether.
Because you know what’s worse than not communicating at all?
Fragmented communication that gets misconstrued. I’ve learned this the hard way.
So, go ahead: check your screen—I’ll wait. Or maybe I won’t.
But, I’m definitely not going to keep talking to a fragmented piece of your attention.