Today, I learnt something…that got me thinking.
Someone asked, who were the last people that called you?
A little baffled at first, I looked at my phone. My business phone, I had a phone call from a member of my team and a supplier.
Should I have more calls?
Why haven’t more people called me?
Am I too relient on emails and messages?
So I started thinking, it’s true… i don’t call people that often. I do send alot of emails. And emails can get lost. There’s only so much you can write in an email. I try to keep my emails short.. a bit like twitter messages. Maybe I should start calling people more often. Especially those i’m working with, those whom i’m doing business with.. those who I need to stay in touch with, my stakeholders.
It’s a busy world. And emails help us to stay in touch with each other becuase we can pick up emails when we are free, go through them, think about the reply, and then type a message and send back.
But what happens if we pick up the phone and call that person? If they’re busy, call back later… if they’re out the country, learn when they’ll be back and put it in the diary. Call a few times, and they know you want to speak to them. They’ll call you back. And when on the phone, you can not only ask them about the main topic you want to discuss, but also other things that are on your mind. You can get their first reaction. But most importantly, hold that conversation. Ask about the family. Ask about their football team. Ask about their weekend plans.
Which then made me think… are losing the art of conversation?
Are we becoming more ‘140 character’ type of people?