6 Situations When a Phone Call Can Be More Effective Than Email

While we know to a large extent, business runs on email these days, or if you’re under the age of 30, you’ll be using mobile apps as much as you can. Neither an App nor email completely replaces the value of a telephone call. In this article, you’ll learn the telephone call is not dead!

So when is a phone call is more effective than email, and why is it important to recognize when it can make a big difference to your communications?

While our preference in business is to send out a quick email, the real message can be lost in translation; therefore, sometimes it’s essential to take the extra step and pick up the phone. With that in mind, here are some occasions when a phone call can be more effective than an email.

When trying to convey authority

No matter how good you are at writing, it can be hard to convey the correct tone via email. All of your words are up for interpretation, and different readers are going to interpret your message slightly differently, even from the same email.

When you speak to someone on the phone though, you can convey tone much more accurately, giving your message greater authority.

When you want to convey an important message

You might know from personal experience that people’s inboxes can be messy affairs. There are lots of unopened messages, and any new ones go into a queue to be dealt with at some stage.

If you’re trying to send an important message though, you don’t want to be sat hoping the other person has got it. Instead, you can pick up the phone and know for sure the other person received the message.

Therefore this is just one of the reasons why today’s businesses still need to make sure they’re investing in their phone services through companies like Kortek Solutions. Your most important messages should be delivered via the phone rather than email.

When you’re apologizing

Apologies are tricky things, and they’re something you want to get right.

While emails give you the advantage of being able to spend time picking out the exact words, they often miss the more human elements that an apology needs. Part of an apology is fronting up and facing the person you’re apologizing to, and this is much better achieved when you pick up the phone.

When someone has questions

When you’re emailing someone about something complicated, then it’s likely, even preferable, they come back with questions. However, you don’t want a constant trickle of questions dripping into your inbox. Instead, you want to be able to get them answered as efficiently as possible.

If you’re explaining more complicated ideas by phone, then you don’t have the back and forth of email and can explain things much more quickly.
When you’ve taken too long to respond

Sometimes you forget to reply to an important email; it happens. However, at some point, you’ve got to get back to the person, and you want to show that despite the fact you took a long time to reply, you’re still taking their email seriously.

In these cases, it’s a great idea to pick up the phone and give them a call. It shows that you’re taking things seriously and you’re ready to deal with the issue at hand.

When it’s something personal

Few people want to hear personal news through an email. Confidential information should be given a personal touch, and a telephone call is much more useful for this.

It’s just as easy to pick up the phone, and people will appreciate the time you took to be more sensitive with the personal information you wish to convey. The other option is to use video conferencing, not that takes communication to a new level.