It’s not breaking news that email, IM, collaborative apps, social tools, etc. have revolutionized our personal and work life. These tools have allowed us to become more connected than we have ever been. In contrast, this same technology has allowed us to easily remove personal/emotional connection out of our communication. By taking out the person—the emotion—these tools of communication can be abused, and as the below video states, start fights. We have all read messages that should not have been written, were too long, offensive, confusing, or just a waste of time. The medium was plainly not relevant to the type of communication. Along those lines, we have all worked with non-verbal type people that rely solely on email and the like as the only tool for conversation. The combination of a poor communication medium choice paired with a non-verbal communicator can pose a big problem in a team environment. Ongoing, it can be detrimental to success.
That being said, in a team environment people need to be able to communicate and articulate regardless of the medium. Too much can be lost and misunderstood in an email or project management app alone. Ultimately a phone call or face-to-face chat can always be the most effective option in my opinion. It can bring clarity, simplicity and understanding to many issues, especially if it involves conflict resolution or an imperative issue.
I ran across a great video titled “Why Email Starts Fights” that illustrates the point further. It’s a solid take on how email alone can lead to communication breakdowns and a few tips to make sure that does not happen. Here is a quote from the video to set the stage. Dr. Albert Mehrabian says, “Only 7 percent of what we say is conveyed through words — tone and visual cues make up the other 93 percent. This is why emails are so often misunderstood”.
It’s obviously a given that there is a time and place for email and online communication the majority of the time works just fine, yet there is definitely a time to forgo it. Thus I think it’s important to take a minute to determine the relevant communication medium before you type. Yes, I’m as guilty as the next guy in making the wrong call, yet it’s good practice to always ask yourself a few simple questions on the fly to determine if an email, online or live conversation is best suited for the situation.
- Can the message be communicated more productively another way?
- Does the conversation involve conflict?
- Is the importance factor high or immediate?
- Will it take you longer to write the message vs. a quick chat?
- Is there a more effective way to the desired outcome?
If you answer yes to any of the questions, ditch the keyboard and make a call or have a face-to-face conversation. And if you don’t have the family jewels to say something face-to-face, don’t email it, tweet it or write it. Of course online communication is imperative, efficient, part of our lives and all communication mediums have their place.
My point is that we need to remember that in-person communication will always and still plays an immediate role to the success of businesses, teams, projects and relationships. Good communication means not soley resorting to non-verbal mediums. Once you think about the content you may find an in-person chat may be the most effective avenue, or maybe not. Either way, the medium should be relevant to the type of communication and information or simply, take a medium relevant communication approach. You will be more efficient, understood, and respected.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Good thoughts, I prefer to just hash things out in person when necessary as well.
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“And if you don’t have the family jewels to say something face-to-face, don’t email it, tweet it or write it. ”
“You will be more efficient, understood, and respected.”
These comments display a certain reluctance to entertain variations in style other than your own. Simple fact of life is none of us get to choose how others communicate and the concept of widely agreed suitability just isn’t realistic. You have to work with what you have. If you know a person on your team is a non-verbal type, constantly pushing them to be extroverted orators will cause more problems than they solve.