Before cell phones and the internet, the means of sending a message were limited. Anytime in the late 19th century or earlier, there were basically two ways to send a message: find the person and talk to them or send a letter or a note or a calling card (ok, there were choices, but we don’t have to worry about most of those mechanisms any more). Then the phone was invented, and now you could actually hear the person’s voice even when you weren’t in the same space with them. The phone was a channel for communication between talking to them in person and sending a written message. And it was revolutionary.

But here in the 21st century, our means of communication have proliferated. Of course, you can still talk to people in person (if you want). And you can call them (that is a function the device we call a “phone” still has). But you can also FaceTime (aka video call), text, post/chat/DM on any one of the ever-multiplying social media platforms, instant message through Slack or Google Chat (or those same social media platforms), email, or send a voice message, video message, meme, gif, or any other communication object through any of these platforms.

The ways to communicate are infinite.

So how do we make choices about which ones to use when?

For example, I communicate with my oldest friend on a regular basis (ok, she communicates with me–she’s a good, loyal, extroverted friend). Sometimes she calls me. Often she texts me. She sends me messages in Messenger, on Facebook, on Instagram, she likes my posts and comments on them. She leaves me voicemails when I don’t pick up. We even recently connected on LinkedIn. I DM’d her something like “Fancy meeting you here ;)” and she ignored me. How is she choosing when and where to communicate with me (or not)?

With our personal relationships, we often know what our friends and family respond to and what they don’t. My dad will answer the phone any time I call, but my dad has never used social media to communicate with me in any way. I’m fairly certain he has never even liked a post. He doesn’t look at social media. That’s not a place where I can “find” him.

For these people, we choose the places we know they are most likely to be or the ways we know they are most likely to respond. Clearly, I will not be communicating frequently with my oldest friend on LinkedIn. We know each other better than that.

But what do we do at work when we are writing to people we don’t know very well? We don’t know what their preferences are for communication. We don’t know where they spend their time, what channels they have open and pay attention to. We don’t know if they prefer to email or call or text or DM or meet or video chat, etc.

If they communicate with you first, you are likely to respond in the same medium. If a client DMs me on LinkedIn, I’ll respond. If they email me, I’ll respond. If they call me, I’ll respond. They are my client, so whichever method they choose, I’ll be there. But I can’t respond to all those channels in the same time frame. I log on to LinkedIn once a day, so I would respond to their message within 24hrs. I check email regularly, so I would respond to that message likely sooner than 24hrs, *but* they should be willing to wait 24hrs for a response to email–that’s basic courtesy. And if they call me, I’ll respond by the next business day. I’m often teaching or training and can’t answer the phone.

1. Timing

So timing is one of the main differentiators in channels we use to communicate: when do we expect a response? For professional messages, an email has an expected 24hr response time. That means that if you send an email, you must be willing to wait at least 24hrs for a response. If you need a response sooner, you need to use a different channel.

Which channels are shorter than an email? Text message = within the work day. IM/Chat = within the work day. Phone call = within the work day and immediate if they pick up (which they won’t). In-person = immediate, but you have to find them.

Which channels are longer than an email? A letter. A letter has to go through the mail and so may take at least 1 week for a response. Of course, a letter can be sent electronically and then the response time may be faster, but using letter format will suggest to your audience that they have a longer timeline to respond.

2. Complexity

The next factor is complexity. Communication is incredibly challenging under the best circumstances. We’re talking about moving an idea from my head to your head. At this moment, the technology doesn’t exist to transfer 100% of an idea from one person to another. Instead, we have to mediate our thoughts through language. I have to try to use my words (and my non-words like facial expressions, posture, body language or in writing formatting, punctuation, etc) to get you to understand what I’m thinking. And as amazing as words are, you’ll never understand exactly the same idea as I do. The best we can hope for is that we reach about 90% mutual understanding. So the more complex the idea is the less it can be transferred.

Now, when we are transferring an idea from one person to another, we rely primarily on words to express the idea. But the expression is subtly different depending on other factors. These factors are called non-verbals. When we are speaking face-to-face, you have access to information from my body and voice that provide more context for how I mean the words that I am saying. Over the phone, we still have access to the vocal information but not the facial or body information. Through video, we have the voice and the face, but not the whole body.

When we move to writing, we lose all of the body language. Writing doesn’t have a body. So, communicating complex thoughts becomes more difficult. We can’t interpret how ideas are meant as well in writing because tone is created through language, formatting, and punctuation rather than through the voice, posture, and gestures.

Additionally, complex ideas require attention. When we are talking face-to-face or even over the phone, I can see and hear when you become bored with my ideas. But if I write a book, I don’t get that same information about how you are feeling while you read my book. Sure, you can pick the book up and put it down, you can rest between consuming chapters or pages. You can process the complexity of my thoughts at your own pace, but I have no control over that at all. You could walk away from my book and never pick it up again. You are less likely to walk away from me in the middle of a conversation and never talk to me again (not that you couldn’t or wouldn’t, just that it’s less likely).

For professional communication, complex ideas are best expressed in person. That’s why we have meetings, so that we can cover multiple subjects during the same hour or so that we’ve agreed to meet. We can see how people respond to ideas and react in real time. Complex ideas can also be dealt with over the phone where we can go back and forth in conversation. Even text or IM chat will work for complexity because of the back and forth nature of these media.

But email or a letter? Can’t handle high complexity because we can’t count on the reader’s attention. The reader can not read, stop reading, or walk away from the message at any point. We have no control over their response to the complexity. This is why you’ve written an email with 5 bulleted questions and the other person has only responded to the first one. You wrote a complex message and they stopped paying attention to you.

3. Audience Response

The third element to consider is how your audience is going to feel about your message. All those non-verbal signals in face-to-face or even over the phone communication actually accomplish something: they allow us to show that we care for the other person. Writing doesn’t have that in the same way. Sure, you can develop feelings for characters in novels, but that happens over pages and pages. In business writing, your message is likely to be less than 500 words; not that much space to develop a real connection with the audience.

So, if the central purpose of your message is positive (unexpected happiness for the audience) or even neutral (expected happiness–or expected unhappiness. Either way, we know it’s coming), you can write it.

But, if the central purpose of your message is negative (unexpected unhappiness), then you want to think twice before putting it in writing. Because writing will never feel as nice as anything you can say.

Now, sometimes you are going to have to write things that are not so nice. I would put sales messages in this category. Selling someone something they aren’t looking for is unexpected and it will cost them money so they will be less than happy. Sure, you can convince them that the $$ is worth the value, but the message still starts from a negative because the person didn’t want to be sold in the first place.

The point here is that you want to think twice before writing a message that might be received negatively by the audience. If there is another way to communicate, try that first. As any salesperson will tell you, it’s easiest to sell in person, then over the phone, and hardest through writing.

Summary

Ultimately, the goal in professional writing is to get the audience to respond to you by doing the work you need done before the deadline. Make sure that you are communicating your messages using the channel that will best help you achieve your goals.

What’s the Best Way to Send a Message? It depends.

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