
Why I Don't Like Phone Calls - dshah
http://www.dkeithrobinson.com/entry/why_i_dont_like_phone_calls/
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jaspero
It is true that you can express yourself better through email than in phone.
The benefit of having something documented helps a lot in the future. I think
its okay to tell people that your preferred method of communication is email.

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JimmyL
For me, it depends on what I'm trying to accomplish with the communications
hit, as both methods have their pluses and minuses.

I find email is much better if I have a complex/multi-step idea that I'm
trying to convey. The act of writing it out allows me more time to concentrate
on a clear way to get the point across, gives me time to revise the
communication to make sure I got it right, and allowed the receiver to re-read
parts to make sure they have understood the idea properly. It also (obviously)
makes it possible to include charts, numbers, maps, pictures - really any
multimedia product that helps explain your point.

Email is also clearly better for CYA purposes/situations where you need to
have an unambiguous and easily-transferable record of who made what decision.
Sure, you could record and then save the phone conversation - but that's
pretty awkward.

Phone conversations, on the other hand, I find are much better for information
acquisition. They allow you to try and establish a rapport/make small talk
with the person you're talking to, which often leads to information you
wouldn't get otherwise. I can't count the number of times that a digression or
a little small-talk on the phone has given me some information that I wouldn't
have gotten if I'd simply sent an email listing the facts I needed to know.
The small "relationship" that you can build through a few phone calls also
tends to come in handy later if and when you meet the person in-the-flesh,
moreso I find than n email conversation can.

Yes, note-taking sucks - but I've gotten into the routine of speaking to
someone on the phone, and then while on the phone with them asking for things
to be emailed to me (generally the type of things I'm after they have on their
computer anyways).

The other issue, of course, is timing. Even when you're in a situation where
you know the people you're communicating with are at their computers, I find
it's almost always faster to call someone to get an answer to a question, as
opposed to emailing them. This, in turn, influences the way I communicate with
them. If the issue isn't that pressing, I'll often email - it allows the
recipient to deal with it at their leisure, which I respect as much as I can.
If I need the information reasonably soon, I'll send a follow-up email as a
reminder, to bring the issue back to the top of their mental/actual inbox and
remind them that I'm waiting for this. But if it's urgent, I'm going to end up
ignoring the scheduling-habits of the person I'm dealing with and will pick up
the phone. I may be interrupting whomever I'm calling, but they'll have had
plenty of time to respond at their leisure by that point, and their time is
up.

Bottom line, for me, is that it depends. What's the interaction for? Who's it
with? What's our relationship? And when do I need that information?

