Our main way of communication is email. It is a bit slow and cumbersome, but it allows to treat the private space of your co-workers in the most considerate way. If we need to speak, we chat in Telegram or schedule a video call. A phone call is an extreme measure. Email is the best.
| Communication way | Advantages | What can go wrong | What to do |
You write when it is OK for you and a person replies when it is convenient for them. It is easy to find all the details. | If someone clicks "Reply" instead of "Reply All", the communication may break. If someone mixes up several topics in one email, it can happen that you discuss one thing and miss out another. One can fail to read their email before sending and so they send a half-written message. If you do not get rid of messages you don’t need, your inbox might turn into a trash heap. | Always reply to all. Discuss only one topic in an email. And the email subject is the email topic. Read your message several times and try to make your ideas clear. Keep your inbox empty. | |
| Telegram | It is quick and convenient, has funny stickers. | A person can read your message, get distracted and never answer. It does not mean they are bad, this is just how life functions. You can lose some important information. Searching chat history is a pain. Voice messages :—) | If a person does not answer, ask them again. If they keep silence, write them an email, they will reply for sure. You should think while writing, even in a chat. |
| Video call | You can see the person you speak to | Surprise call. Being late and not ready. | You should ask in chat before calling to make sure everyone is ready. After 2-3 minutes ask again. Be in time. Make sure you have all the files and links at hand. Check the connection. |
| Phone call | Extreme measure | You live your life and your phone rings right out of the blue. What the hell? Something must have happened! It is possible that a person does not pick up and never calls back. It is OK, no one must do it. | Don’t call. If you need to call, it does not matter any longer, so do whatever you want. |
When you call or write to someone, keep in mind that your words might be misinterpreted. If a person can read them in some other tone so that they sound aggressive or indifferent, that’s exactly how it will be. And this will be your problem, so it is better to write well straight away.
It does not matter what you wanted to say, the only thing that matters is how you were heard
It works the same whether you talk to clients and partners or team members. The one who understands this and can deal with this is a real ninja.
Ludwig Bystronovsky: Read carefully between the lines (in Russian).