Communicating Effectively

This week we focused on communication between project team members. The purpose of this exercise was to let us experience the same verbal message in three most commonly used ways: through email, voicemail, and face-to-face talking.We were taken through each modality, starting with the typed text (email), to pause after each one and to write down our perceived interpretation. This is the summary of my impressions and reflection on the differences and implications for the future use of each type of communication.

Email

Jane is nicely asking Mark to complete some report, to give her an ETA (estimated time of arrival?) or send it to her as soon as possible because she needs the information from it to complete her own report before the deadline. The matter is urgent, but Jane is considerate enough to offer Mark to email her just the row data she needs as a possible solution, because she understands that he might be too tired to do a lot of work immediately. The form of written communication is not usually used in extremely urgent cases, so this might give Mark an idea to take it easy for a short while (if the issue were really time-sensitive, people would call in addition to emailing, or ask in the text to give them a call ASAP). Jane could be Mark's boss.

Voicemail

Here, Jane sounds really stressed out and desperately in need of help. I don't think she is Mark's boss anymore.

Face-to-Face

This is the most immediate way of communicating. The woman is relaxed and friendly. She is most likely an equal co-worker, though, she could have some authority; perhaps, she is a project manager. The request is urgent, but looks like Mark might get some help. Because the face-to-face communication implies dialogue, it is easy to clear up any uncertainties, to voice concerns and requests, and to come to the best solution in the most efficient way and in shorter time (the opposite is possible, too – making things more complicated - but let’s hope people would try to avoid that).

All three ways of communicating should be used for different purposes, even though people can use these modalities differently, depending on their personalities and the ability to control their bodies, emotions, and words. Not to run the risks to get really confused, I’ll focus on the most obvious differences.

The benefit of written communication is in the time delay, i.e., in having a moment to compose yourself and the text in the best manner and for the clearest meaning. Also, the recipient has more time to understand the meaning by re-reading the message as many times as needed. The drawback is in the recipient’s inability to get immediate answers to his/her questions. Also, as I stated above, there is the possibility of the recipient missing the email, so one should choose this mode of communication for important but less urgent matters. Another benefit I could think of is the possibility to record important information.

The voicemail is the quickest if all in a sense that you don’t have to “compose” the text and don’t have to visit the recipient; at times, it also might be the rawest emotionally (second only to your immediate reactions to someone next to you) because the speaker’s voice gives out a lot of information about the person’s state of mind, while the time spent traveling for a visit can have a cooling effect. Like email, voice message is also a form of record-keeping. One thing to be aware of when leaving a voicemail is that it is also the least clear way of leaving information, especially when working with people of different nationalities: you might not understand their accent, and they might have a problem getting all the words if their English is not perfect. Another drawback is the lack of dialogue and the possibility to miss the message (like in the email communication).

Face-to-face contact is the most “unsafe” way of delivering a message, unless the participants take time to record, and even sign everything said. The good thing is that it allows clarifying the information without delay. We should be mindful of what we say, though: unprepared communicators run risks of making unfixable mistakes, for as we all know, once the word is out, it’s really difficult to take it back. That is why some people prefer written communication for its luxury to revise the message until no doubt is left about the meaning. The face-to-face modality should also be chosen when the purpose is to show another person visual cues in addition to the verbal ones.

The email modality is the most neutral and probably the safest, even though, the real Jane is hidden – we’ll never know whether she was annoyed, angry, or warm and caring. The email it good for the factual information but not - for showing the writer’s state of mind. The voicemail is probably the least desirable because the meaning might not be apparent and there is room for misinterpretation. The written words are often clearer than the recorded voice, for foreigners. The face-to-face is the best (unless you don’t want to show your emotions) for complicated matters because there is time for a clarifying dialogue.