At the risk of sounding old — not to mention old-fashioned — I think it’s sad how little time most of us actually spend having conversations on the phone or in person with our colleagues, staff, customers and suppliers. I get more than 100 e-mails a day — not counting the ones filtered to my junk folder. And guess how many voicemails I get? Usually one or two a day. I remember when I used to get 15 or 20 every day.
Nowadays, I respond much faster to voicemail. Don’t get me wrong — I can’t even imagine how business was done without e-mail. It can and does create major time efficiencies. But lately it seems like it’s a serious time drain. I would guess I spend 20 percent of my time actually talking to people internally and externally, and 80 percent of my day in front of the computer — with a good chunk of that time spent reading and responding to e-mail.
Obviously, as an editor, I believe in the power of the written word. But so much can be, and often is, lost or misinterpreted in e-mail. Miscommunication in e-mails can be caused by the senders’ inability to accurately convey their intended meaning, and by the receivers’ inability to perceive the senders’ intended meaning, according to a research study by Kristin Byron published in January 2008 in the Academy Of Management Review. Byron argues that the intrinsic characteristics of e-mail make miscommunication likely.
Just the other day, I got an e-mail from an industry colleague who I hadn’t talked to for a couple of months. Instead of e-mailing him, I picked up the phone. We chit-chatted for several minutes, and then we talked about a story we’re working on for the next issue. I knew that one of our writers had sent his organization an e-mail requesting information, but his boss turned down the request because he misunderstand what our writer was asking. I explained the angle to my friend, and he gave me a great source and example for our story. Then we gossiped about the industry, and I jotted down several other story leads to follow up. That was the best use of 15 minutes I had all day.
We’re all so busy that it’s quicker and easier to send off an e-mail rather than dedicate the time for a phone conversation or face-to-face interaction. But what are we sacrificing in the interest of saving time?
Danica Tormohlen, Editor dtormohlen@red7media.com
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