Are you sending an email when you should have just called the person? Are you sending a text when an email would have been more appropriate? Do you call when a text would have worked? How you choose to communicate, just like the words you use, will tell a boss, customer or coworker a lot about you. So which form of communication is best? It depends. Here are a few tips to help out…
Phone Call – Make the call when what you have to say just can’t be explained fully in an email or text. Sometimes when writing an email I begin to realize it’s getting too lengthy and my thoughts may not be coming across well. This is a good time for a call. If you haven’t spoken to the person in quite a while a phone call can also be a good way to build on the relationship. However, be sure to respect people and their time by calling at an appropriate time. Don’t call a restaurant manager at noon. Don’t call a bank teller at 2pm. Don’t call your minister at 11am on a Sunday morning. Keep in mind that people are busier today (or at least they perceive themselves to be) than they have ever been. A phone call takes up time. Don’t avoid the call, but show respect for others by your method of communication and they will in turn respect you and take your call. If you seem to always get people’s voice mail when you call them, it might be a sign that you’re being screened and you’ve already gained the reputation of calling a lot, about very little.
Voice Mail – Here’s an interesting stat… Only 33% of people listen to voice mail from business contacts. If you call and the call is appropriate, leave a short voice mail (less than 30-seconds) with the reason for calling. Don’t leave a voice mail saying “call me” without a reason. This is bad form and poor etiquette. Let the person you’re leaving the message for have an opportunity to prepare for the call back. If you need to leave a message longer than 30 seconds with some type of request, then that’s a good indicator that an email would have been more appropriate in that case.
Email – I can’t tell you how often I’ll get a call for a simple and brief request where a one or two sentence email would have done the trick. People typically check their email. Be brief, don’t use “ALL CAPS!!!” and don’t send poison. Keep in mind that not many will read a 5-paragraph short-story of an email. People respond negatively to ALL CAPS, even when you don’t mean anything by them. And don’t get us started on poison pen emails. Send them at your own peril. Just remember, what you put in writing in an email is now available for all to see. Keep in mind that email will also give you a record of the communication.
Text – 98% of text messages are viewed and read. Embrace texting. It’s quick, easy and effective. Keep your text less than 160 characters. It works well for a simple FYI, when a request for action is needed and when a short response can be given. However, “You’re Fired” is not the best use of texting. Don’t consider the text a substitute for an employee meeting and make sure you know the texting IQ of the person you’re texting when using abbreviations. Just like email, it also provides a record of the communication.
With all this said, avoid the worst mistake of all… Sending an email after leaving that voice mail message about that text you sent 5 minutes ago.
If you use the right form of communication at the right time you’ll find that people will respect you, they will take you seriously and they will respond quickly.
