By: Eli Jochim
Call, text, or email? We’re faced with this choice daily as we communicate with the world around us. And, perhaps unwittingly, each of us have developed tendencies in how we share information under certain circumstances. We all have that text-averse friend who is so laconic that their litany of one-word responses is almost poetic. Or how about the friend who never answers a phone call: Seriously, Dave? You texted me two seconds ago. If you’re shaking your head thinking you don’t know someone like this, it’s probably you.
Among friends and family, these little foibles are typically harmless and easily forgotten, but when dealing with edtech customers—especially educators, who communicate for a living—it’s important to navigate around potential conversational faux pas.
Generational disparities in communication technology are often the cause for headaches and annoyances that arise from our exchanges. Today’s workforce runs the gamut from Baby Boomers who may be most at home on the phone, to Gen Xers who remember life before the internet, to Post-Millennials whose adoption of constant, rapidly changing tech is second nature.
The important thing to recognize is that, when there is a gap, both parties should feel accountable for establishing a status quo. Not just because it’s the right attitude to have, but because if not, our communications run the risk of having unintended and undesirable consequences. As Marshall McLuhan puts it, “The medium is the message.” How you share information is just as communicative as the information itself.
So, in pursuit of clarity, let’s take a look at three methods of business communication.
The standard bearer for 21st century business relations, email is great for daily correspondence with clients. The ability to send and receive emails without real-time interaction relieves the pressure of immediate response and allows us to prioritize a day’s work in relative peace. Unless marked otherwise, email is a channel for things that lack serious urgency, but one way a virtual company like PRP maintains an ongoing conversation with our clients is to respond to email as soon as our schedules allow.
Call
For those huddle-up moments, phone calls are the best way to relay a lot of information in a short amount of time. No point sending novels back and forth when you could jump on a conference line and hash it out in a few minutes. Phone calls are clear, efficient, and as detailed or Spartan as you’d like. Besides all that, using your voice introduces the benefits of inflection which might otherwise be lost in text. Having a good laugh with a client can really brighten up your day and theirs, just as noting a sore subject can keep you from putting your emoji foot in your mouth in your next email.
Text
Like the waterways of Venice, text is the most intimate of channels. Texting a client or customer assumes you have access to their personal phone number. It’s important to have clearly defined boundaries separating work from home. You can bet that your client or customer does, and that you fit neatly in the category they’ve defined as work. Unless you have a previously established understanding, avoid texting clients as a first line of contact during business hours, and certainly not after. Now, there may be emergency cases where texting is applicable. Maybe they’re at a conference and have no other means of communication, or perhaps in a time of crisis management, texting your client is the most surefire way to deliver direct and immediate coaching. These are exceptions, however, and should be treated as such.
To make sure that everyone in your company share an understanding of how and when to best use each of these channels, consider putting together a communication best practices guide. (PRP has one, and if you email us, we’d be happy to share it.) Determining and enforcing things like tone and uniformity in communication across your entire company will help define your brand and help you gain the trust of your customers and prospects.
Just remember, your delivery speaks volumes.
Thanks for sharing!