As a public relations practitioner educated in an email age, I find it easy to get carried away in the dependence on email communication rather than picking up a phone. This could be because I opted to use texting and instant messaging throughout my university career as a cheaper alternative to the traditional phone or it could be that email is a much less intimidating process. Either way, I’ve recently noticed this dependence translating into my work life (especially when pitching media) and have forced myself to recognize that there is a time and place to email versus phone. Here are my thoughts:
Email Pros
-Time saver: you can save time by sending out mass messages, duplicating and reusing information
-Accessible: as long as you have signal, you can communicate without disrupting others
-Complete: in an email, you can include everything you want to say all at once
-The norm: with others so dependent on technology, many prefer to be contacted via email
Phone Pros
-Persuasion: on the phone you have a better opportunity to back up your points
-Immediate: if you reach someone, you get the satisfaction of having an immediate response
-Personal: contact is more personal over the phone and can help to build relationships with clients/media
-Stands out: with such a dominant volume of emails today, a phone call or voicemail is less likely to get lost in the clutter
I do think that both methods of communication are valuable in different circumstances. When pitching media, I tend to email out the original pitch and follow-up via phone in order to spark conversation about the story angle. It is about doing what you are the most comfortable with and trying to meet the preference of your contact/client.
