I recently saw this on LinkedIn:
- Manager: Did you call that customer?
- Colleague: I emailed her. She didn’t reply.
- Manager: yes – but did you call her?
- Colleague: no. So I chased with an instant message. She didn’t reply to that either.
- Manager: one more time – did you call her?
- Colleague: no, you are right. I will send her another email.
Sound familiar?
Communication these days – there’s just too much written; too little verbal.
Even though most of us prefer to receive verbal.
Yes, written has its place – as these written Tuesday Tips kinda prove. But the fact is: verbal is often better – especially for things that are personal, complex or contentious.
And, let’s face it: verbal is more fun than reading and writing. And business is not always as much fun as we want it to be.
So a simple question for you this week:
Are you being verbal enough?
Which means that today’s action point is also simple…
Action Point
Pick. Up. The. Phone.
And/or…
If you are writing an email and start to think “I don’t know how to phrase this”…probably, just pick up the phone. It will be a lot easier.