Tech Tips With Margaret: Picking the Best Communication Platform For Each Situation

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Young woman on a zoom conference call

We are lucky to live in a time when we have an abundance of digital communications tools at our fingertips. However, the thing with tools is they each have a purpose they are best suited towards. The same is true for when it comes to deciding whether you will communicate with your colleagues by video call, email, or chat.

Suzanne Oliver of the Wall Street Journal shares more, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. It is not a matter of any of these methods being good or bad, but merely better suited to certain situations.

Video Call

If you can’t have a face-to-face meeting with somebody a video chat can be the next best thing. It gives you immediacy for urgent matters, and it is more likely that you will have the other person’s undivided attention.

And in terms of practicality, it is far easier to have a conversation with a larger group in this format. However, for non-urgent conversations, this method will come across as demanding. If you ask for a video call with someone it should be for a nuanced talk, not for a casual quick chat.

Email

For communicating with someone you don’t know well an email is still the safe standby. It’s professional and not too pushy for someone else’s time. That latter detail can be one of the drawbacks, though, as you can often expect to wait a while for a response. So for timely matters, another method might be preferable.

If time isn’t pressing, emails do allow you to convey a lot of information all at once in a way that is easy to come back to for reference.

Chat Services

Many modern workplaces utilize services like Slack nowadays. These services are a great way to let a lot of people keep in touch with each other at once throughout the day.

However, this communication style is very casual, so it is best for brief thoughts or something you need to get a response to rapidly. Trying to share a lot at once here will likely have it go unseen among other messages.

It can take some trial and error, but with practice you’ll definitely notice the amount of traction your messages are getting, and be able to quickly discern if there was a better method to use.

If you have more questions, consider getting more details from the Wall Street Journal’s article here.

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With over 30 years in business, Haverford Systems Inc. is a GOLD Level Certified Zoom Integration partner and the Delaware Valley’s most experienced audiovisual design and integration company. 

Our teams work with trusted and well-known industry brands to create state-of-the-art systems that help in-office and remote teams collaborate and get more done.

Click here to set up a conversation with Margaret to discuss your next conference room project.

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