I was reminded recently of the complexity of communication and the limitations of certain media in facilitating communication. During a group email conversation, the discussion topic got complicated - too complicated for email. While trying to communicate my thoughts in the discussion, I felt the need to preface my remarks with a "don't read into this; email isn't sufficient to communicate this" warning.
At that moment, the emails should have stopped and the "real" conversation should have started through another medium. Thankfully, in that instance the conversation resolved after my last email, but that won’t always be the case.
When considering how best to communicate – internally with coworkers, externally with a client, vendor, journalist – consider the nature and importance of the message, the message's recipient(s) and the limitations of media to deliver that message and then choose the most effective one. It may be an email, but as the complexity of the communication grows then perhaps it may need a phone call or even a face-to-face meeting.
Don’t leave your message at the mercy of the medium. Deliver it clearly, leaving as little as possible to be distorted or disrupted by the noise of a particular medium.
What about you? Remember any time when you shouldn’t have fired off an email and should have picked up the phone or walked down the hall?