Pick Up The Phone

These days most people use various forms of technology to carry out their business and to communicate. From email to Skype to texting.

It may seem quick and easy but it’s important that you think about what's most appropriate. Don’t assume an email will arrive in the other person's Inbox immediately. Sometimes there can be a good hour or two delay, depending on the ISP, route taken, time of day, email settings ... etc. Servers crash, connections go down. While the majority of emails will get through safely, they can go astray and never reach their destination or get filtered out by over enthusiastic spam filters, blocked by an ISP or just lost in the volume of emails that people receive every day. Also remember that the person may not be around to respond at the speed or in the time that you're expecting.

If you’re sending an important email, you can use the 'request read receipt' option but that doesn't always guarantee delivery and can be automatically triggered without the email actually having been read. If it's that important - follow it up with a phone call.

Skype is great for keeping in touch and having informal chats but if it’s important, it’s always better to talk over the phone or in person.

We get so used to using email. This week, why not pick up the phone instead. Actually speak to the person and see what difference it makes.