Things relevant to my study have a lovely way of hopping onto the path in front of me and today was no exception. The Age on Thursday (and I skimmed on Sat) ran an article entitled “Eight signs your workplace is crook” by James Adonis. One of the eight signs had to do with communication so my TL caterpillar antenna went up (metaphorically speaking).
The statement that caught my attention the most was Adonis’s statement:
People falsely believe that email is communication. It’s not. Email is just a means of transferring information. It’s certainly not communication.
I have been coming to this conclusion myself, both as a TL at work and as a member of a team collaborating on an assignment for one of my subjects. Here’s my take on why emails are not communication.
Communication is meant to be two way. Emails get written and sent but that doesn’t mean they are received or read or responded to or that the content is understood.
Having a conversation via email even when the other party responds has complications. Like letter writing in days of old, it is hard to express the feeling, the weight or the intent of things you are trying to say. Even with the extensive use of emoticons (which can end up looking rather juvenile) nothing written can truly convey meaning like tone of voice, pauses, immediate clarification and feedback and the chance to hear the other person do the same.
