Performance
Improvement News |
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Winter 2007: Volume 6, Issue 1
By Ellen Diamond, Sales Manager, CarMel Management Solutions, Inc.
There is significant ubiquity in all the communication methods that form today's information age. From phone calls, email and regular mail to fax and video conferencing, not to mention text and instant messaging, how do you choose?
Each of these communication tools has benefits and disadvantages. Here are things you should consider when determining how best to communicate with a given client, colleague, manager, or vendor.
Tools: Immediacy of communication, paper trail or audit requirements, time zones, time buffer between sender/receiver, security/confidentiality.
Objectives: What is your objective; who is your audience; what makes is easy for them to communicate; and, what makes it easy for you to communicate? Then, what is your and your audience's cultural environment for communications? Summarizing these factors will provide guidelines for future communications.
| The best way to reach someone is by choosing the way they want to be reached. |
Phone
- Advantages: Most common tool for one-to-one business communications. Total ubiquity.
- Disadvantages: Reaching people located in different times zones at times that are convenient for both of you can be challenging.
Email
- Advantages: Can send additional information—files and pictures. Provides a paper trail if necessary. Can confirm received. Easy to provide seamless links to additional information and follow up.
- Disadvantages: Tone of voice can be misinterpreted. It's easy to read between the lines—sometimes too easy!
Regular Mail
- Advantages: Good tool for those preferring old-fashioned communications; tactile
and tangible; it can be nice to get real mail.
- Disadvantages: Slower than email, phone and fax. Can take a long time to get to the recipient.
Fax
- Advantages: A well-known communications vehicle that is comfortable and familiar.
- Disadvantages: Potential lack of confidentiality; missed or lost pages.
Text Messaging
- Advantages: Immediacy of email for those without a Blackberry or similar device; good for quick thoughts and not as disruptive as a phone call.
- Disadvantages: Not everyone has text messaging on their phone plans.
Instant Messaging
- Advantages: Usually free for users. Can contact people quickly and very informally.
- Disadvantages: Too many different applications—need to find the most common one to use with the intended group.
What is your objective? Is this a negotiation? Are you a professional working on many versions of documents or presentations? Is your communication a sales or marketing effort? Are visual images part of the communication? Is it imperative to make it as easy as possible for the people you are communicating with to contact you? How time-sensitive or confidential is the information? Is this a courtesy call or thank you note?
Review your objectives and make a check list of the advantages and disadvantages for the desired communications. Add up all of your check marks and choose your communication tool, keeping in mind that the best way to reach someone is by choosing the way they want to be reached, regardless of whether or not it is convenient for you. By the way, what ever happened to good old-fashioned face-to-face meetings?
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For your own personal pocket-sized Communications Tool Checklist, contact Ellen Diamond, CarMel Sales Manager. She can be reached by email at ediamond@carmelus.com or phone on 212-973-9622.
* Newsletters are in PDF format, which requires the free and safe  Adobe Acrobat Reader. To get a single printed issue, please e-mail us at customercare@carmelus.com.
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