Email: I thought the
email was a little harsh. If the person
hadn’t written “I really appreciate your help” at the bottom, I think it may
have been taken in a negative way. I’ve
actually had this experience in which someone thought I was upset with them
because of an email. It wasn’t
true! I didn’t realize how harsh the
email sounded until I re-read it. A very
good lesson.
Voicemail: I thought
the voicemail was better than the email because the tone of the person’s voice
was pleasant and not angry. It certainly
was a very good communication method.
Face-to-face: This
one was just as good as the voicemail.
There really is no replacement for seeing someone’s facial expressions
when they are communicating with you.
This person actually smiled at the very end.
When making a decision about which modality to use, I think
it really depends on what you are trying to communicate. I found this great video on youtube that
gives ideas on when to use an email verse calling or talking to someone
face-to-face. There is an advertisement
at the beginning of it (sorry)! http://www.videojug.com/interview/to-e-mail-or-not-to-e-mail-2
Laureate Education (n.d.) The Art of Effective
Communication. Retrieved September 20,
2012 from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html.
Angela,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that face to face communication is better than email and voicemail. But how do you fit it into your day? I struggle to get everything accomplished when I depend on email. I am sure I would have enough time in a day to talk to everyone I need.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI do not have the luxury of seeing co-workers or customers face-to-face. I have to re-read any communication I have via email to double-check the tone. I do call the customers when able, particularly for urgent issues. Email is definitely the way I communicate most though!
Have you developed a procedure for communicating via e-mail so the tone is communicated correctly? I know it is sometimes hard to make sure your tone is not taken incorrectly.
ReplyDeleteI have a colleague that failed to notice the tone of his communications at the end of last school year. He started to attack the professionalism of some teachers (including myself). I really lost a lot of respect for this individual, and do not use e-mail to communicate much with this person.
Mark,
ReplyDeleteBasically I re-read everything I send out. Because I work remote, I do not have the luxury of my colleagues or customers knowing I'm a warm, fuzzy person and would never, ever write an email that was intended to be hurtful, etc. When I need to address something that has been escalated, I do one of two things: run it by my manager (who is exceptional at problem-solving) or take a few hours, then re-read it before I send it.