Jul 23

WRITTEN BY: David Davis
Thursday, 23 July 2009 

Telstra is presently advertising on TV, radio and internet that ‘It’s never too late to call your mum’. The power of this message about verbal communication isn’t that obvious until you consider the alternatives. Can you imagine the copy saying ‘It’s never too late to email your mum’?  Somehow, it doesn’t have the same impact.

In today’s fast-moving world we have so many options in the way we communicate: email, letter, IM, SMS, Twitter, blogging.  Now, I’m not advocating one over the other, however, each method has its pros and cons.  What I am advocating is that we should use as many ways (of communication) as appropriate to get the job done.  We need to be careful which ones are used for any particular communication and be mindful which approaches will gain the optimal outcome—for all parties and the matter in question.

Personally, I’m finding great value in IM-ing via my BlackBerry as it allows me to communicate in so many places where I couldn’t before. Brief, sharp and to the point.

However, having managed teams and projects for over 20 years, I have had to intervene in many situations where people have become entrenched in an email chain despite the fact that they are not meeting the objective of the interaction.

On one hand, email is a tool that, I’m sure you’ll agree, provides so many time-saving benefits.  For example, to email an instruction to a team all at the same time is phenomenal when previously there was faxing and internal paper memos.  On the other hand, a project manager’s most important skill is communication—verbal communication.

A busy project manager is likely to be time-poor and can make the mistake of using email as their primary communication approach for all interactions.  In many situations, verbal communication used in the first instance is far superior than electronic written communication by itself.

For me the alarm bells ring when I see:

• an email chain that is bouncing between the parties more than twice
• megaphone diplomacy—someone that broadcasts frustration or berates team members
• any email that issues instructions without a corresponding email that acknowledges receipt and reflects comprehension of the instructions
• a project manager say: ‘I have emailed them’.

To paraphrase a blogger at petanque-c.com, why are some people so unwilling to communicate verbally? And, why do people hide behind email when picking up a telephone to deal with a matter would be so much quicker and more effective?

The reasons that verbal interaction is so powerful are that it’s two-way and it’s in real-time.  You can access the other party’s response immediately, especially their non-spoken language that can’t be conveyed in writing, such as pauses, voice pitch or tightness and vague responses to name a few. As you speak, listen and observe, your message can be adapted to get the optimal outcome.

Do a quick audit on the percentage of interactions that you start with verbal communication in the course of your day compared to the total daily interactions you make.  My mantra is, where possible, verbal should be the primary communication, with an email backing up the agreement/instruction.

And by the way, it probably is a good time to call your mum!