Are Email Threads a Waste of Time? The Benefits of Direct Communication
A few words in praise of the humble phone call and direct communication.
By now, we’ve all had thought the thought, seen the meme, heck it’s probably a stencilled throw pillow, “This meeting could have been an email.”
Of course, emails themselves are not immune to awful acts of inefficiency and vanity. What else is the cc line for but a marque to over-communicate to relevant power structures or an inside look at the sender’s professional insecurities? Oftentimes, both.
So, here’s my take on the classic: this email thread could have been a phone call.
The Benefit of Verbal Communication
When two people are engaged in direct communication, remarkable things can happen. Like, the chances of being understood can increase dramatically. One’s half-thoughts don’t become part of the corporate record. Instead, they are fleeting, pieces that are moulded and shaped into other, better, collaborative ideas because clarifications are offered, probing questions sought out further examples, and understanding blooms. From this, meaning and actions take root—all in record time.
I coach on the phone. I like it much better. When I am on the phone, I can listen deeply. I can pause and use silence. I can wait, listen for a change in breathing. I can offer real understanding.
Concentration and Direct Communication Go Hand in Hand
In this age, we are all so used to meetings via computer and email. The distraction rate for these is incredibly high, meaning your interaction is being interrupted by notifications and other conversations not relevant to the current moment.
Turning cameras off is not the same for me because I’m still attending to my laptop, to the many distractions that can and will interrupt.
But when I’m on a call, I can’t afford to let my concentration lapse. I’ll be discovered right away.
It’s a one-on-one medium. Intimate, relational. It carries risks too. For example, disagreement, tension, or conflict might spontaneously occur, leaving both participants with nowhere to hide, forced to simply deal with the circumstances and situation in real-time—as opposed to drawing out misinterpreted hurts or micro-aggressions over email for days.
Reading Between the Lines
Using the phone for direct communication allows me to understand what might go unsaid. I listen for the secret bits of information, emotion, and truth that often lie between sentences—which would be lost in an email. But on the phone, something deep inside me twigs, and I say, “can we pause there for a moment? When you said, “but I’m over that now,” can I ask a bit more about that?” And, maybe we have a whole new thing to unpack, a new way in, a path towards a solution that would have been unavailable were this an email.
Using direct communication is a sure-fire way to go deeper and get more meaningful conversations out of your workplace and peers.
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