Perhaps like you, my frustration, distraction, and sadness given our world’s pandemic and public health crisis simmers, boils over, ebbs and flows with each new day, through the day. Yet, what lately has become very clear, emphasized by health experts and peer-reviewed science, and embraced by many who remain otherwise divided on oh-so-many issues, is the importance and positive impact of wearing a face mask. The message is clear: wear a mask (properly) and the risk that you, and others, will contract COVID-19 is significantly reduced.

So, as an interested observer of human behavior, and as a communicator, content and connection creator, I’ve taken to more actively looking at people on every day walks, sometimes on saunters with my spouse, sometimes at a quick clip with the dog. In each case I consider what attitude and emotion the individual knowingly, or unconsciously, conveys by their very mask practices. The dog walks are particularly exciting because I not only look at the folks I encounter, I attempt to engage in communication, maybe a passing connection.

Emotion in Motion

I acknowledge that this experiment isn’t scientific, or even an experiment. It is totally random. It is a very limited sample in a very circumspect region—my hometown neighborhood. And it’s just my perception of observed behavior–a feeling about someone that comes to me as they approach and dissipates as they pass. Yet, I’m going to borrow some categories of emotions from a very good, very respectable, and very real study. McKinsey and Co. just released a new “The Emotion Archive Study.” This version of the global scan reports on individuals’ emotional reactions to the ongoing pandemic and our seeming continuum of crises. The information is important content and context.

Emotion #1: Anger. (Let’s get this big one out of the way first.) Despite the data, there are a lot of non-mask wearers. There are a lot of people angry about being told to wear a mask, so they don’t. There are a lot of mask-wearers angrily telling non-mask-wearers to mask-up. There are a lot of people, with and without masks, who are out walking, who just have an angry look on their faces—more so amid summer’s heat and humidity. And there have been a handful of people who give me quite the angry glare when they hear a mask-muffled “hello” or “good morning” from me.

Emotion #2: Annoyance and Emotion #3: Boredom: The good news is, there are many, actually an increasing number of people, with masks, by my count. Some dangle them from one ear, or the other, like a large, cloth ear bob. Others have them snug and safe under the chin or sported more like a head or hair band. I’ve seen masks attached to cross-body bags and clutched by hand as I attempted all kinds of social distancing maneuvers. And when I offer a greeting to these folks, it generally does not go well. There’s often no response or acknowledgment. There may be a stare or a downright glare. I feel it, even when they, and I wear sunglasses.

Emotion #4: Acceptance, Emotion #5 Trust, Emotion #6: Joy: Now these three make up quite the mini-emotional spectrum, don’t they? We’re talking about the real mask-wearing public now. Many people seem to have accepted the fact that wearing a mask is a very good thing to do, for others, for themselves. It may not be their most-wanted accessory, yet they trust in the science and go fashion forward with coordinated face coverings. Some sport sports logos. Others make a statement with an imprinted statement. There’s many a blinged-out mask. I’ve seen three-year-old’s skip along with superhero masks. (These joy-filled kids lift the spirits of everyone in sights.) And this group of everyday walking mask wearers is, by and large, quite friendly, responding in kind to verbal greetings, even to thumbs-up or peace signs. Some people expand their salutations with a kind word about our non-masked but well-bandanaed pup. There’s a fleeting connection.

Seriously Now-Not

Now, these views are expressly my own. This content is meant solely for this month’s LaurelComms blog. This narrative is not meant to contribute, in any way, to our too-divisive dialogue or to pile on to the already politicized mask debate. Hey, I didn’t even begin to offer thoughts about our avid runners or bicyclists with/without masks. There’s a lot more I could say about these folks.

In conclusion I offer a confession. I do like to get out and ride my bicycle, especially along the Lake Michigan shore, on sunny, not-too-windy summer days. Sans mask. Yes, it is risky. Yet, it provides a moment of joy in motion that can help dispel the anger, fear and sadness of our times.

#CommunicationsContentConnections
#Communications

(If you’d like to learn more of the McKinsey Emotion Archive, visit: McKinsey & Company)