{"id":5947,"date":"2023-07-20T17:07:38","date_gmt":"2023-07-20T17:07:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/leadership\/better-communication-at-work-on-various-devices\/"},"modified":"2023-07-20T17:07:39","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T17:07:39","slug":"better-communication-at-work-on-various-devices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=5947","title":{"rendered":"Better Communication at work on various devices"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Dianna Booher\u2014<\/p>\n

Standing stark naked, I started to place my phone on the bathroom counter nearby before stepping into the shower. Just as I put the phone down, it rang. I reached back to grab it, thinking my ill dad needed me to make a quick dash to the ER. Startled, once I saw that it was a Facetime call, I felt the phone slide through my fingers like slippery soap and land on the floor.<\/p>\n

Yes, I did have enough sense about me at the moment to grab a robe before answering the number I didn\u2019t recognize. \u201cYou\u2019re face-timing me! Did you realize that? It\u2019s 6:30 a.m.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo sorry.\u201d Click. The client sounded as surprised and embarrassed as I felt. He didn\u2019t call me back for another two weeks\u2014a typical voice call during regular business hours.<\/p>\n

Although the most embarrassing communication mistake, it\u2019s certainly not the only one I\u2019ve been party to when someone\u2019s juggling too many channels: email threads, text threads, instant messaging, Slack, What\u2019s App, Facebook Messenger.<\/p>\n

To be more specific about such communication mishaps:<\/p>\n

\u2013\u2013My brokerage firm mailed a quarterly financial statement to me\u2014a statement belonging to another client!<\/p>\n

<\/fbs-ad><\/p>\n

\u2013\u2013A very sexually explicit text came from an unknown phone number. I replied, \u201cYou\u2019ve sent this to the wrong person.\u201d The return text said, \u201cSo sorry\u2014that was meant for my husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013\u2013A family member texted an insulting comment\u2014quickly followed by a second text saying, \u201cOoooops. Wrong thread.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013\u2013An impatient journalist sent me a LinkedIn message inviting me to schedule an interview \u201cASAP,\u201d but which I got around to reading a month later.<\/p>\n

\u2013\u2013Laughing at myself just now, I sent a text yesterday to a colleague, saying: \u201cPlease check your email. Complicated situation. Too much to text.\u201d<\/p>\n

All these tools are meant to make communication easier and quicker\u2014but channel overload often does just the opposite.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s What Can Go Wrong<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Clarity:<\/strong> Quite often during a fast-moving situation, you and a colleague (or several colleagues) find yourself using two channels at once\u2014email and text. With the same situation, you as the recipient have to keep tabs on the timeline. You\u2019re caught seeing two contradictory messages.<\/p>\n

The text says: \u201cSean Hall has decided to go ahead with the project if we can start it today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next instant-message you see says: \u201cStop work. Sean has changed his mind because we can\u2019t guarantee the work will be started today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then you check your email only to read: \u201cCan you call the manager of the service department to see if she\u2019ll work Sean into today\u2019s schedule?\u201d<\/p>\n

Contradictory messages? What\u2019s the current state of affairs? Is the project moving ahead or not? You\u2019ll have to go back to each message and check the timelines to determine what, if anything, has been \u201covercome by events.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delays: <\/strong>If you have time-sensitive messages, be sure you\u2019re sending and responding in the channel that your recipient uses most often. It\u2019s disappointing\u2014and sometimes costly\u2013\u2013to find an invitation sitting in your account for an event that\u2019s already passed.<\/p>\n

Mistakes: <\/strong>Deletions, exceptions, deadlines all provide fodder for frequent miscommunication. You receive an email saying, \u201cOur Hile proposal has been approved as submitted. You\u2019re now free to destroy all the preliminary drafts of research that have been done over the past 6 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

So you delete all the related worksheets\u2014only to see a Slack message at the end of the day saying this: \u201cOne exception to the earlier note about the Hile proposal: Please retain the worksheets involving cost calculations of the alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Distance: <\/strong>Rapport builds slower when so many people work remotely and communicate virtually. Having 17 people join on a ZOOM call does not create instant camaraderie among the participants like a face-to-face meeting when people arrive early and stay late to chat.<\/p>\n

A warm handshake or even an \u201cHey, hope you had a nice trip to Okinawa. I heard Caleb say you went there on business. New effort or what?\u201d Just a \u201cHi, Ginny\u201d on a live call breaks the ice far more than joining a video \u201cmeeting\u201d with a couple dozen other unknowns.<\/p>\n

So, where do we go from here? It\u2019s not realistic to think all the channels and apps are going to shut down or unclog themselves.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s How to Navigate Communication Channels Safely<\/strong><\/h2>\n