Dear Boss,
I know you asked me to call our client but I chose to email them so they’d have the time to respond to me at their leisure and thereby leave a better impression.
Translation: I don’t like calling people and avoid it all costs. It makes me uncomfortable to talk to people on the phone and I prefer the security/anonymity of email.
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Dear Employee,
How considerate of you! What you didn’t know is that they weren’t available via email and asked that we call them. Given that the issue was time-sensitive we’ve now lost our chance to work with them. Moving forward, if you have the urge to email instead of call, still call and then if you still think of emailing, don’t, and instead call. You’ll know when I’ll want you to call because I’ll say – as I did this time – “Please call them.”
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Why Your Torture Plan Will Surely Backfire
You let your telephonophobia win. This is a fear that is growing in numbers as emailing/texting grows as well. It’s letting people off the hook and in some cases it’s a sign that our interpersonal skills are diminishing. Telephonic communication is still extremely important when you want to a) avoid “plugging in / turning on” and b) make a human connection. Email is a dream – one of the best inventions to date (as far as I’m concerned) – but it lacks basic human connection. Sometimes you gotta get on the phone.
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Maybe Try this Instead?
Call when asked. Yes, it requires more effort but that’s the point. Sometimes that little ounce of effort makes all the difference. If you find you have an aversion to the phone then you need to confront that fear.
To be clear, I’m not referring to cold sales calls. Few – if any – of us want those. I’m talking about when you’re already working with someone and time is of the essence. Don’t risk them not seeing your email if you need to relay an important piece of information.