What’s the best way to get people to really listen to the message you’re trying to get across? In today’s age of information and technology overload, we’re all getting hit with messages from every angle – mobile phones, email, text messages, tweets, Facebook updates. How can you break through all of that and actually be heard amongst all of the competing voices?A friend of mine recently told me about something his boss is doing to try and quiet things down a bit. He has implemented a no laptop rule at all meetings. I think we’ve all been in a situation where we’re trying to have a meeting or conversation with someone, but that person is only half paying attention – checking their Blackberry or clicking away on a laptop. Are they taking notes? Maybe. Multitasking? Probably. Paying attention to what’s being said? I doubt it. On the other hand, I’ve also been very happy to have my laptop along when I needed to pull up a document and share it with the group, send a quick email to get an answer to an immediate question, or refer back to something or other. In a number of cases it’s saved time and made the meeting more effective. Or for those of you who have ever worked on a PR crisis, you know that there are times when you simply cannot be incommunicado.So when it comes to effective communication – and polite office etiquette – what’s the solution? No laptops or PDAs that compete with the conversation at hand? Or can we expect people to only use them to help enhance the communication that’s underway (and in emergencies)?I believe we should embrace technology. Like it or not, it’s becoming integrated into virtually every communications media – even face-to-face meetings. Let’s figure out ways to have technology enhance and support the messages we are trying to communicate. You know, kind of like using it for good rather than evil.What’s your take? How are you dealing with technology and communications overload in your world? We’d love to hear from you.Note: Photo by Russell Davies as posted on Flickr.