In a world of “instant” communication it’s easy to forget that most of the time we’re not having a conversation with someone we’re just sending messages their way. I was reminded today that the personal touch is sometimes just the thing to get things done.
A project that I was working on was stalled in the contract phase because we were communicating exclusively via e-mail. After not receiving a response I picked up the phone and with a short conversation made more progress than had been made in 13 days. In fact the contract was completed within the hour.
Is it great that we have so many tools to “communicate” these days? Absolutely! However, if the tools are getting in the way of the conversation then they need to go. Sometimes it’s important to have that face-to-face meeting or simply chat on the phone. Tone and body language are often lost in an e-mail or text message.
We need remember that our customers, prospects, vendors, and business associates are people first. We should communicate with them in the way they talk best, that won’t always be with an e-mail, sometimes it requires a phone call.
