Email, text and other electronic communications allow us to conduct business without ever having to speak to someone. We can delegate projects, assignments, tasks, etc., all by email. In some cases I actually feel like I participate in an entire meeting via email. When I look back at the 30+ emails that have gone back and forth between colleagues all on the same topic, I ask myself, “Why didn’t we all just call a quick 5 minute meeting to resolve this issue rather than these 30 non-emotional, non-vocal, non-face-to-face emails all flying back and forth and crossing over?”

Yes, there are benefits to email. It is instant. It gives us a chance to think about and research what we want to say. It allows us to communicate with someone even when they might not be available. You can assign projects and tasks to a group of people and everyone knows who is responsible for what. Etc…

Email has its down side as well. It gives us the ability to ignore something. To say it got lost in SPAM. It makes it easier to “pass the buck” by just forwarding the email on to someone else and asking them to take care of it. Without facial expression or tone of voice, many emails get misunderstood and/or misread.

So it makes me wonder… Will our voices become extinct? Have we forgotten the power of face-to-face communication? Eye contact, body language, and tone of voice are very powerful tools that will never come across in an email or text message!

Guest post via Peggy Seeloff, a Vice President in our NY Office who is responsible for account management and promotion administration. Peggy can be reached at Peggy@MardenKane.com.