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Communicating with Generation Z
266 Plays6 years ago
#GenZ is back! Season 2 kicks off with a focus on communicating and connecting with Generation Z. Andrew Roth, of Gen Z Designs, shares his insights on how to best communicate and engage Generation Z. From in-person to FaceTime and texting to TikTok, we discuss Generation Z’s preferences in communication, as well as growing trends in effective engagement for Gen Z.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Hashtag Gen Z' and Season Two
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to hashtag Gen Z. I'm your host, Megan Grace. Hashtag Gen Z is a podcast about all things Generation Z. That's the generation of young people born between 1995 and 2010.
00:00:27
Speaker
It's about who they are, what they believe in, why they do what they do, and what makes them different than any other generation that's come before them. Welcome to season two of hashtag Gen Z. I cannot wait to get the season started.
Megan's Role and New Book
00:00:39
Speaker
For those who are just joining us, my name is Megan Grace, and I'm a generational researcher, author, and host of this podcast. I focus my work on better understanding this generational cohort. And while my research keeps me in the know about what's going on with Gen Z, I'm fascinated by the lives and stories of the members of Generation Z.
00:00:54
Speaker
This podcast exists to share those stories while exploring trends that relate to Generation Z. For those returning, it's great to have you back and I hope you're as excited as I am to continue to learn about Gen Z.
00:01:06
Speaker
As I discussed last season, my co-author and research partner, Dr. Corey C. Miller and I recently released a new book, Generation Z, A Century in the Making. This book dives into nearly every aspect of the lives of Gen Z. Writing this book gave me new motivation and new topics to become interested in and explore. That has become a primary source of inspiration for much of this season. If you haven't yet, head over to Amazon or Rutledge.com to grab your copy.
00:01:32
Speaker
It's a great primer for the conversations I'll be having with my guests this season.
Gen Z's Communication Preferences
00:01:36
Speaker
I'm kicking off season two with a topic that I've actually been studying since I was an undergraduate. I've been fascinated with communication behaviors for a while now. Our research with Gen Z has led us to better understand communication methods and preferences among this group. In our 2014 study, we found that Generation Z prefers and values in-person and face-to-face communication methods over anything else, which seems opposite to what we observe with this highly technologically connected group.
00:02:01
Speaker
After in-person communication, they prefer text messaging or other messaging means to connect. And they're not heavily using or preferring to use emails or phone calls. While our study did not include social media in this focus area, we do know that social media is an important means of communication and connection for this generational cohort.
00:02:18
Speaker
Last season, Natalie Russo shared her insights and experiences as a member of Generation Z working in social media, so go check out her episode to learn a little bit more about that. But this episode focus is not only on the types of communication methods Gen Z is using, but also the motivation behind their communication preferences.
Introduction to Andrew Roth and Gen Z Designs
00:02:34
Speaker
Andrew Roth joins me to discuss communicating with Gen Z. Andrew's a sophomore at Vanderbilt University with a passion for innovation, a curiosity about the future, and a unique ambition to be a driver of change. As a serial entrepreneur, Andrew's adventures began with his creation of Champions for Charity, a nonprofit empowering youth to make a difference in their community through sports.
00:02:55
Speaker
Upon arriving at Vanderbilt, Andrew experimented with online marketplaces before starting his current endeavor, Gen Z Designs, which is a consulting business helping organizations and brands connect with Generation Z through digital appearances. As a Gen Zer, Andrew recognized how many businesses were failing to attract young people with their websites and brands.
00:03:14
Speaker
through Gen Z designs, brands utilize Andrew's three-eye approach, impression, interaction, and influence to help win over the attention of Generation Z. And I'm excited to have Andrew on today to discuss more about how we can connect and engage with Gen Z through communication.
00:03:35
Speaker
I'm really excited to welcome my guest today, Andrew Roth. We actually got connected through good old fashioned social media. Andrew reached out a few months ago and is actually a fellow Commodore. So it's excited to be able to spend time and actually interact with him in person a few times before he's come on the podcast. And I'm excited for him to be here today and to share a little bit about who he is and what he does, especially as we think about communicating with Generation Z. I think it's a topic that
00:04:00
Speaker
I talk about often when I'm working with clients and people that are interested in the topic. Andrew also does some really great work in the area. Andrew, why don't you tell me a little bit more and our listeners a little bit more about who you are and what you're up to. Sure. Thank you so much for having me. Really great to be on the podcast. My name is Andrew Roth. I'm a sophomore at Vanderbilt University studying human and organizational development, which is the fancy words here for business psychology in two words.
00:04:31
Speaker
and then minoring in Spanish, and then medicine, health, and society. So a lot of different interests. But I'm also really interested in entrepreneurship. I've been involved in the area for a while. I worked with starting a nonprofit back in high school and now getting more into the consulting side of things. And as you mentioned, I've recently been working on a project related to Gen Z, which is a design firm helping companies engage
00:04:59
Speaker
engaged with this new generation using designs. So that's what I'm doing right now and it's awesome to be in this space and it's exciting as a member of Gen Z to just be able to offer my unique and real opinion on subject matters that older people, millennials might not be able to understand as well.
00:05:18
Speaker
Absolutely. I think that, and I've been able to kind of witness a little bit of your work and what you do with your design work and helping companies. And I think that it's bringing a unique voice to Gen Z and sometimes we older generations, as I say, we old people, but not that much older. I think we know a lot, but it's important that we actually have these conversations with you all. And so I'm thankful that you're here to discuss this a little bit more with communicating with Gen Z and
00:05:44
Speaker
I mean, let's just get right into it. So my research, and I know that you've you've sat in on one of my sessions, and you've kind of done a little bit of reading in the research is pointing that Gen Z actually prefers to communicate the old fashioned way and places face to face and in person communication as the most important. What are your thoughts on this? Like, do you see this to be true? Is this something that you're seeing being relevant and important with your peers? Yeah, definitely, I would 100% agree. I do think that face to face or in person communication
00:06:13
Speaker
was definitely the most important and most valued, I would say. I wouldn't necessarily say it's used the most, and that's just from a strictly convenience perspective. I wouldn't say that, I don't want to give the impression that Gen Z is lazy, but I would say that rather than having to walk somewhere to ask someone if they're able to talk, I'd send them a text and just say, hey, are you free to chat for a few minutes? It's all in my mind a matter of saving a few extra minutes so you can
00:06:43
Speaker
spend that time doing something else and being more productive. So definitely face-to-face is the most valued. And I think that's something pretty misunderstood in terms of our generation, the stereotype of just people looking at their phones and all in the same area and no one's talking to each other, which can be true. But at the same time, face-to-face is definitely valued more.
00:07:04
Speaker
So you bring up the really important, I think, component here is the fact of technology. And you mentioned that face-to-face is the most valuable, but maybe not the most utilized, which is an interesting thing that we place a lot of value on it, but we might not necessarily do it.
The Importance of Face-to-Face Communication
00:07:21
Speaker
From your perspective, how do we foster more in-person and face-to-face communication in a high-tech world? No matter where we go, it's a high-tech space that we live in, even in school and work.
00:07:34
Speaker
So how can we foster more of that valuable in-person and face-to-face time? Yeah, I would say that a lot of it's actually happening on its own. Things like FaceTime, it seems in a way that that's not really what someone would call in-person, but in terms of a Gen Z perspective, it's basically as close as you're going to get. And sometimes it's as good as you're going to get to in-person. And so that's crazy popular. I don't know how much other people use it, but I use it every day.
00:08:02
Speaker
talk to friends from home and just connect with people like that. But also, if you look at trends and the way technology is advancing, especially the way young people are using it, video is such an important part of where we're going. New apps, new trends are being brought up every day. There's a new app called TikTok that's super popular just because it's a video connection, a way to see people's emotions and see people face-to-face
00:08:31
Speaker
You know, some of it, it doesn't really have to be forced as much as it might seem. And I think because it is something we value, like you said, not necessarily use the most, but because it's something we value, I don't think it's something that's just going to be washed away. I think that trends are going to emphasize that. And, you know, something like YouTube is a great example. Like YouTube is the most popular media amongst, you know, Generation Z. And that's just because of the
00:08:58
Speaker
the ability we have to connect with someone face to face like that. And again, not necessarily being right in front of the person, but it's still being able to see their emotions and pick up on signals that you wouldn't be able to necessarily tell from a text message. So I'm going to have an old person moment. I have no idea what TikTok is. Can you please? And I know I'm not alone out there.
00:09:19
Speaker
Can you please shine some light on what TikTok is? Sure. I'm not a huge user of it, but I will say it's essentially, if you remember what Vine is, it's essentially like a play on that. It's kind of just quick, short videos that are funny or, you know, quick music bits or something just to catch people's attention and people can like them and there's a popular section. It's really a pretty similar idea to Vine that a lot of people in my generation are
00:09:49
Speaker
are still missing these days. But TikTok seems like the next thing from Vine. So is it not like Snapchat, where I would send, say, my two friends this? It's like posting it to a timeline. Right, yeah. Maybe Instagram, similar mindset. Exactly. You can follow people. You can kind of see what's popular, all that.
00:10:11
Speaker
Interesting. Okay. I will check this out. I don't know if it's going to be for me, but I will check it out. Cause I think I used mine for like, uh, 13 total days and did not contribute anything. So I was not a good buying user. This is shocking to everyone. I know. Um, okay. So face to face still important, but like we can't at all ignore the fact that y'all text message and mobile message a lot.
00:10:35
Speaker
You know, some people would think that text messaging is somewhat unprofessional because you take it everywhere. But like, what are your thoughts on text messaging? Do you think it's a necessary medium for connecting with Gen Z? Yeah, I mean, I would say, especially Gen Z to Gen Z, it's 100% effective. And definitely, like I mentioned before, it's the most efficient. I mean, I know if I send a text message to someone that they're going to respond within five, 10, 15 minutes.
00:11:02
Speaker
just because I know them and that their phone's on them and that's kind of what we do. On the contrary, I wouldn't Facebook message someone if I'm trying to get a hold of them because that's less efficient. I know they wouldn't check it for maybe a few hours, a few days. But in terms of professionalism and connecting with Gen Z in that way, yeah, I think if my boss told me to text them, I would text them. I wouldn't necessarily just, you know,
00:11:31
Speaker
submit to that as the standard. But I think it's important to recognize that that's what we do. And so if you're not adaptable to that, then that could be a problem going forward.
00:11:44
Speaker
Do you feel weird at all if, say, you mentioned your boss, but for people that might be considered authority figures or older figures in your life, is it weird if they were to text you? Or do you find that that's a completely appropriate relationship to be having? Say that it was an internship and your supervisor texted you versus sent everything via email correspondence.
00:12:07
Speaker
Yeah, it's a hard question because I think a lot of it has to do with the situation you're in. But I definitely would say that if I get a text from a supervisor, then I know, I mean, maybe it's a little weird at first, but then I know that that's how they want to communicate. And I'm obviously fine with that. And that's easier for me. She's kind of like the initial, like, oh, I guess this person is okay with doing this. And that sounds good to me.
00:12:30
Speaker
So you'd kind of take the cues of who the other person is. Okay. So our research is also just really pointing out nothing. I don't think anything surprising, but that young people today are not emailing and they're not phone calling nearly as much. And I think that you kind of talked about how FaceTime might be creeping into like traditional phone call space, because why would you just hear someone's voice?
00:12:54
Speaker
Ironically, we're talking about this on a podcast where you can't see our faces. But why would you just hear someone's voice when you could also see their face? But let's get into the nitty gritty and talk about email and your thoughts on email. Because the research that's showing that we're seeing, both in our quantitative and qualitative, it's not very preferred. And then when your generation gets to those spaces, it's not as frequently used.
00:13:18
Speaker
Can you shine some light on that?
Distrust in Email and Phone Calls
00:13:20
Speaker
I have my theories and where I think some of it's coming from, but I would love your perspective. I think this is getting into, like you said, the meat of the conversation and something I want to bring up eventually is that trust and trustworthiness online is the single most important factor, in my opinion, for all communication with Gen Z. To touch on phone calls a little bit, part of the reason I don't pick up the phone half the time is because
00:13:45
Speaker
I get 10, 15 calls a day that are spam. The robocalls that you get from a number that looks familiar, but that's not an actual number asking for whatever it is. Phone calls are not becoming obsolete. I still use them, but definitely a less trusted area because somehow everyone has my phone number now. I think that touches on emails a little bit too.
00:14:11
Speaker
You sign up for some random service online, and then you get 10, 15 emails from them every day. You end up having to put them in your spam. I think it's just kind of like the overwhelming desensitization of email and of phone calls. So I wouldn't say actually that emailing is not preferred. I mean, I could be an exception, but I use email a frequent amount. Especially in a professional setting, I think,
00:14:39
Speaker
people in Gen Z are very comfortable doing that. Like I said, if that's the tone that the person you're communicating with has set, then that's something that I'm very comfortable doing. But yeah, I think it all comes down to trust. When I'm looking for a product, if the product emails me, I'm not going to pay as much attention to it because I get so many of those. And it's just another one that I'm going to put in the trash can.
00:15:08
Speaker
But at the same time, if someone's reaching out to me to get to know me, and a lot of times the only way they can do that is by email, and then I'd be happy to respond that way. So that's really helpful that there's an element of trust that is a component of it. Because we've also seen in some of our qualitative work around email communication just being generally slow compared to text messaging. And the kind of reservation that email is more of a professional medium
00:15:37
Speaker
as opposed to other spaces. And again, our studies have been done with college students a little earlier in their career where maybe the habit of emailing hasn't kicked in full swing. But I mean, I've interacted with some of your peers on campus and they're like, yeah, I don't read those emails all that often because there's too many or I just get saturated with them or it just doesn't seem as important. So I might only check it.
00:16:01
Speaker
Maybe once a day or once every other day and i think that's an interesting generational kind of shift that's taking place i would be curious you know for you it seems like you're navigating a variety of different spaces between your peers and professors and professional settings how do you vary your communication to be or do you vary your communication to be effective in what ways are you doing that definitely and i think it's
00:16:25
Speaker
It varies between professional and peers and then it also varies within the peer environment and even honestly within the professional environment. I mean, from a professional standpoint, I think, you know, email is initially one of the ways that I reach out, but LinkedIn is also a huge tool that I'm a huge supporter of and I know we connected that way. I think it's just so easy to find, you know, people with common interests and people with common backgrounds, they're doing
00:16:53
Speaker
awesome things. And so that's the way I reach out a lot. But also in terms of a peer-to-peer basis, if you look at the major social media platforms, I would say Instagram is definitely more of a social impression kind of thing. If you just met someone and you want to check out what their life is like in a matter of two minutes, then you go on their Instagram and scroll through their feed.
Twitter and Gen Z's Real Opinions
00:17:18
Speaker
And I wouldn't say it's the best representation of who they are. I think it's a little bit
00:17:23
Speaker
a little bit fake in terms of what people put on there. That's just a personal opinion. But honestly, I think even Twitter, Twitter is my favorite social media by far. And I think the communication style on that platform is very unique. And it tells a lot about who you are. I actually have a friend who's developed a Twitter-based AI system for dating that just kind of analyzes their Twitter feed and shows what they like and don't like and what they retweeted and matches people like that.
00:17:53
Speaker
Besides that idea, it's a platform that allows you to express yourself a little more and kind of get a real inside look at that. That is fascinating that they've created a dating app from Twitter. I'm terrified to run my profile through it, to be completely honest.
00:18:10
Speaker
Keeping up with trends, like what's keeping up with the cool with the kids is part of this podcast. Can you identify any trends in communication that we should be keeping an eye out on or for without being too creepy about what the cool kids are doing? But are there any cool trends that you're seeing among your peers that are a little bit different or on their eyes?
Engaging and Meaningful Communication
00:18:31
Speaker
I was thinking a lot about this. And I think to go to touch on trustworthiness one more time,
00:18:38
Speaker
You know, because there's so much, so much information out there, I think that's one of the main takeaways is that, you know, we get an influx of phone calls, emails, social media alerts, news, notifications. I mean, all this is coming second by second to our phones and to our computers and stuff. And, you know, I think there's to a degree, some sort of desensitization to that. And so when that happens, it's kind of like, you know, in one of my classes, I'm learning about Maslow's hierarchy of needs and
00:19:08
Speaker
There's that basic level of physiological needs, you know, kind of just the elementary things that are out there. And then above that, there's a social and emotional level. And so for me, something I think is going to be important to communicate with members of Gen Z is that because there's so many of that basic level stuff out there, that we're going to start to need to communicate at a higher level where we're reaching
00:19:33
Speaker
more engaging needs of people. And I mean by that, you know, the social and emotional levels. I think communicating in a way where we can kind of skip that, you know, this is my product, this is what it does, and going straight to the, this is my product, and here's how it's going to help you in a, you know, some way to relate to them in a higher level. Just because there's so much out there, like,
00:19:58
Speaker
I don't need to, I hear all the time all that basic stuff and I just, I want something more engaging, something I'm gonna be easily able to differentiate from what's out there. So I know it's not exactly a trend that's going on right now, but I think kind of based on what's out there and based on the values we hold that that might be something pretty important going forward.
00:20:20
Speaker
So really, it's not only just the message, but the depth of the message that's taking place as well. So don't just try to sell me the product, but I also think about how this takes place and almost the demand for true and authentic and meaningful conversations between even peers. And sure, you want to connect with people that you can laugh and have a good time with, but I think that your generation and most generations are also looking to places like social media
00:20:49
Speaker
these communication platforms for connection. And I think the meaningful conversations are a huge piece of that. So I think that's a great point of a trend doesn't necessarily have to always be the app that someone's using, but really what they're desiring from those apps, maybe. And part of the, just sorry to add onto that, you know, part of the reason why I think Twitter is so effective is that rather than just, you know, Twitter essentially is just a bunch of news and information that's out there. But what's so interesting about and why I love it is that
00:21:17
Speaker
you're able to see, you follow your friends on there. And so then you see what they like and you see what they retweet. And so that's kind of like that extra level where you're getting, you know, your social needs are, you base who you follow, you know, who you follow is who you like to be around. And so, you know, what they're liking, what they're retweeting is something that is now more interesting to you because that's connecting to you at a different level rather than just seeing that basic, and this is what's happening today in Korea, right? I mean, it's just, there's a whole different level of connection there.
00:21:48
Speaker
It's a really unique curation of news and information. I joke with one of my friends, a grad school colleague. I follow her mom on Twitter. And she's not even on Twitter, but her mom is. And so I follow her mom. But her mom has really interesting political stuff that she follows. And I was like, honestly, if your mom wasn't so active on Twitter, I wouldn't know half the things that are going on in her government. It's weird that you follow my mom so intently on Twitter. I'm like, I won't take it back.
00:22:13
Speaker
She's one of my favorite people now. So, never met this woman, but she has great tweets. Anyways, so there's always this interest in wanting to engage with Gen Z. It's a huge piece of people that listen. They want to know, like, how do I connect with young people today? So, in a variety of different capacities, what are some of, in your opinion, some good strategies that people maybe of older generations or maybe within a generation can be utilizing to communicate more effectively and connect with Gen Z?
Authenticity and Passion in Gen Z
00:22:40
Speaker
Definitely, number one, I would say be more authentic.
00:22:42
Speaker
I just think there's, like I said, there's so much out there, so much to go through. What really is going to get to us is the authenticity aspect. And I feel, speaking for my peers, I think we pick up pretty quickly on some of the BS that's out there. And so if someone's able to step up to us and have just a real authentic conversation, I think that goes a lot farther than you might think.
00:23:08
Speaker
I think that that is something that I've actually continually heard from a few different guests on the show. So if you are of an older generation and you are paying attention, be yourself. They think it's cool. So Andrew, I just have one more question for you. And I asked this of all of my guests. What is your favorite thing about your Generation Z peers? I have to say, honestly, they're so passionate about so many different things. I think part of that's due to the fact that we have so much at our disposal to learn from.
00:23:38
Speaker
and so we can access things so quickly. But honestly, you walk up to a college student on campus and maybe it's something unique about Vanderbilt, but you walk up to them and you learn what they're doing and you realize that they're also involved in 10 other things and doing X, Y, and Z while also being a member of a Greek organization and doing babysitting on the weekends and all this stuff. And I just think there's so many things going on.
00:24:07
Speaker
people are able to manage all that is just so impressive. And every person you meet here is doing different things and doing cool things. And I think that's just like an awesome element of this generation of people.
00:24:21
Speaker
Yes, I agree with you that in my witnessing of your peers on campus and those that I interact with in other capacities, the very passionate and informed bunch of people that I'm lucky to know and learn from. So I want to thank you for having on today and talking more about how we can communicate with Gen Z, what's going on in terms of communication methods and styles and what's important in those communication methods.
00:24:46
Speaker
And I thank you for doing good work and working with some brands and helping them better engage Gen Z because I'm big believers in you all. And I think that if we as older generations learn a little bit from y'all, we're going to be in good place. Well, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.
00:25:05
Speaker
I want to send a big thank you to my guest, Andrew Roth. It has been great to be connected with Andrew on campus and bounce ideas around with him, but it was also wonderful to have him today to be able to share more about his experiences. I appreciate his insights on the motivation behind Generation Z's communication preferences and behaviors. His thoughts resonate with our qualitative work in this area and highlight the need to continually understand communication preferences. I often find that misunderstandings and communication preferences
00:25:31
Speaker
can be a great source of friction in multi-generational organizations and groups. While I've been studying this area for a while, I'm reminded how important it is to stay informed and up-to-date on changing patterns in communication. Despite the fact we lean on communication as a primary point of productivity in our work, it is easy to gloss over the critical relationship building that can take place through our communication strategies.
00:25:52
Speaker
If I know anything about Generation Z, those relationships are paramount. I also want to send a big thank you to you for tuning into this episode as I kick off season two. I can't tell you how excited I am for the topics I'm exploring in the lineup of incredible guests this season. If you enjoyed this episode, you really don't want to miss all the fun in season two. Make sure you rate, review, and subscribe on your preferred podcast listening platform.
00:26:15
Speaker
Your feedback helps me improve the show and it also helps other listeners find the show. I do want to give you just a quick sneak peek into what's going down in season two. You can be looking forward to episodes that focus on designing learning environments for Generation Z, engaging Generation Z and helping them find their voice in activism and advocacy, mental health trends and support.
00:26:34
Speaker
and Generation Z when it comes to religion and spirituality. But that's just to name a few topics.
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:26:40
Speaker
I created this podcast because I wanted to continue to learn about Generation Z and share their stories. There's so much more going on with this group beyond just the numbers we see in research. As always, if you have a topic you'd like to learn more about or a member of Generation Z that I need to connect with, please let me know. You can reach me on my website, meganmgrace.com. That's M-E-G-H-A-N-M-Grace.com.
00:27:03
Speaker
and send me a note through my website or we can connect on social media. My handle or username is Megan M. Grace on all platforms. So you can find me on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Cheers to season two and thanks again for tuning in. Let's continue this conversation and we'll chat soon.