August 30, 2026, Issue #51
Which do you prefer: a telephone call or an email?
There was a time when our choices were pretty simple. You picked up the phone, or you wrote a letter and put a stamp on it.
Today, we can communicate in seconds without ever actually speaking to another person.
And there are some pretty good reasons for that.
Email gives us a written record. It allows us to respond when we have time. We can think about what we want to say before hitting Send, and we don’t have to interrupt someone’s day with an unexpected phone call.
For many business situations, email makes perfect sense.
But then there are those times when email starts creating more work instead of less.
You send an email.
They reply.
You clarify.
They misunderstand the clarification.
You send another email.
Three more messages later, you’re thinking, “Wouldn’t it have been easier to just call?”
Sometimes, it would.
A phone call can be particularly useful when something is complicated, time-sensitive, sensitive in nature, or simply easier to explain out loud.
There’s also something else we can lose when almost all of our communication happens through screens: human connection.
Tone can be difficult to interpret in an email. A short response that was intended to be efficient can come across as abrupt. A carefully worded message can still be misunderstood.
A conversation gives us something email can’t always provide: the opportunity to hear tone, ask questions immediately, and clear up confusion as it happens.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we should all abandon email and start calling everyone about everything.
Please don’t. Some of us have work to do.
Instead, maybe the answer is simply to be more intentional about how we communicate.
Use email when you need documentation, clarity, or time to think.
Pick up the phone when a conversation would be faster, clearer, or more personal.
Neither is automatically more professional than the other.
The professional choice is knowing which one fits the situation.
And sometimes, the best communication tool really is the simplest one.
The phone is still there.
I promise it works.
So, where do you land?
Are you a “just send me an email” person, or are you still willing to pick up the phone?
Quote
“Once you face your fear, nothing is ever as hard as you think.”
Olivia Newton-John