Build Trust - The more sensitive the topic, the lower the use of technology should be
This is almost Trust 101. If you have a sensitive topic (say the approval of annual pay increases for your team) that you need to discuss with your boss, would you sooner do it in person, over the phone or via email? Now I know this book’s intended audience is IT professionals, but I hope that, even in this socially-challenged field, most of you selected face-to-face. You can pick up nuance, tone, facial expression so much more easily face-to-face. Some argue that less than ten percent of our communications are conveyed with our words, and that over fifty percent is transmitted via our body language and expressions. As someone who talks with a thick accent, I can attest this to be true. Most people gather the gist of what I am saying, not through the words I use, but through how I deliver them. Therefore, the phone can be the “final frontier” to communicate with me, as it deprives people of their visual clues.
Now if you would want to discuss sensitive issues face to face, then would it not stand to reason that your team, customers and, heck, even your family would like to do the same thing? So remember, never email anything sensitive; always strive to deliver important news in person, and be sensitive to the recipient of the news.
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