Has the author tried to have "good oral communications" in person in a noisy bar, restaurant, or party? Unless you are directly shouting on someone else's ear, your words can be hard to understand, or mis-heard, leading to nonsensical replies or vague "uh-huh" replies. I have at times suggested to my non-tech friends that we all need to bring digital devices to such place and just text each other while meeting in person.