Communication is the most important aspect of
any type of relationship. Effective
communication in the work place is essential when carrying out projects or
assignments. If there is ineffective
communication, it can cause a project to fail and many stake holders to be unhappy.
There are many modes of communication in
today’s society. With the advancement of
technology, many people can communicate through email, webcams, voicemail and
text messaging. In this post I will be
comparing a message that was delivered three different ways, email, voicemail
and face-to-face from one employee to another,
Email:
Jane conveys to Mark that she needed to complete the rest of her portion
of the project, but it was missing important data that she was waiting for Mark
to give her. My perception of the email
that was sent by Jane is that she was very stressed and desperate about
completing her assignment and without Mark’s portion; she would never be able
to complete it. I use email to
communicate with many other colleagues on my campus, but I think for something
that was this important would more effective through other modes of
communication.
Voicemail:
Jane sent a voicemail that I felt was clear, to the point and
pleasant. A voicemail message is an easy
and effective way to communicate your thoughts in a clear more meaningful
way. When I read the email I thought
Jane was desperate and I interrupted her message differently than the voicemail
she had left. I understood exactly what
message she was trying to deliver when she left Mark the voicemail message.
Face-to-face:
with everyone’s busy schedule these days, it’s nearly impossible to
locate another colleague or anyone on your team. I have tried to locate my administrators on my
campus during my lunch or at the end of the day, but they are nowhere to be
found. The message Jane delivered to
Mark face-to-face was very clear, effective and conveyed everything she needed
with one conversation. You could
interrupt her facial expressions throughout the conversation and she sounded
very pleasant and not demanding or stressed as in the email she had sent him.
References:
Laureate Education (n.d.) The Art of Effective
Communication. Retrieved September 20, 2012 from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html
When would it be good to use e-mail over voicemail or face-to-face or vice versa?
ReplyDeleteI agree that this message was too important for e-mail. I think there are too many risks of the e-mail going to spam, not checking it enough, and not having time to thoroughly read the email then forget to come back to it. A phone call of face-to-face visit would be much more effective and quicker. I think the way the message was presented in the voicemail was the most effective method for me. It was quick, convenient and expressed enough urgency. I am afraid that you really have to know your teammate to drop in for a face-to-face visit because something that is urgent may cause Mark, in this case, to read into body language and facial expressions possibly leading him to become defensive.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned how busy we all are and how difficult it is to actually have face-to-face communication. I couldn't agree more. I work 100% remote, so I basically have "virtual" co-workers. Once a year, we meet for an internal training. These meetings are invaluable, not only for the information part of it, but also to spend time together and develop relationships. Because of these relationships, it makes it a lot easier to count on each other throughout the year for help, etc.
ReplyDelete