4 reasons you should talk on the phone

Photo courtesy of Pexels.com

Photo courtesy of Pexels.com

Millions of Americans send and receive text messages and emails each day. According to the market research firm The Radicati Group, every day there are 205 billion emails sent and received globally! These numbers shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone. Texting and emailing are easy. Reasons people text or send an email range from the obvious like, “everybody’s doing it,” to the devious like, “I didn’t want people to know we were talking.”

That said, there are still plenty of really good reasons to make calls.

  1. Things get lost in translation
    I enjoy the occasional joke. My 10-year-old daughter tells her friends when they meet me, “He thinks he’s really funny. He isn’t. So, you’ll have to forgive him.” That said, it’s hard to be funny in an email or text message. Just because you think something is hilarious doesn’t mean the person reading the message will agree. Why? I think part of it has to do with the tone. You just can’t pick up on humor in an email or a text.
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  3. Calls require your undivided attention
    In August of this year Ian Bogost wrote in The Atlantic, “When asked, people with a distaste for phone calls argue that they are presumptuous and intrusive, especially given alternative methods of contact that don’t make unbidden demands for someone’s undivided attention.”

    But that’s why phone calls are great—they force you to interact with someone in real time. Texting and emailing allow you to multitask which means you’re not giving either activity your full attention.

    Here’s a somewhat embarrassing example from my own life: A few months ago I was texting while walking down the stairs in my home. You can probably imagine what happens next. I was nearly done with my descent when I tripped, stumbled down three stairs, and did something awfully painful to the big toe on my left foot. Ouch! I never finished sending that text.

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  5. It can be quicker
    I know this is contrary to popular belief, but sometimes picking up the phone and making a call is easier. Have a complicated four-part question that needs answering? A text conversation could take up the bulk of your day. Email may or may not be any better. But, a phone call might be able to get you the information needed in just a few minutes.
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  7. Awesome voicemails
    Texts and emails are easier to ignore than phone calls. Have you ever gotten a text message from some strange number? Odds are you looked at the message and quickly disregarded it.
    I can only speak for myself but, even if I get a call from a number I don’t know I feel obligated to answer. If I don’t answer and I get a voicemail message I always listen to it. You should do the same! Sometimes you’re lucky and receive awesome messages like this one my coworker got on her managedIP phone.

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Guest bloggers for the TDS Business Blog.

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One Response to 4 reasons you should talk on the phone

  1. Dan Esposito October 27, 2015 at 9:18 am #

    Nice article! Insightful. The voicemail put a smile on my face.

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