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Actually funny this question. Because come to think about it, text is by far my preffered way to communicate. That goes for work and for serious-private matter

Actually funny this question. Because come to think about it, text is by far my preffered way to communicate. That goes for work and for serious-private matters. The absolute strengt with text is that it gives you history by default - you can save it. While you can save text it's also eaiser to the search. The mental model around writing and communicating is the mental proces that goes into it, and which is also the reason i disagree with people that believe you should be good at writing - if you haven't thought about what you want to communicate you can't write it nor speak about it. Why would you be better at communicating by speech rather than text? Sure it's faster to speak or video, but does that give a better result? I say no way

EvanAnderson 6y ago
It's worth noting that some people specifically see verbal communication's undocumented-by-default nature as a feature. When I was younger I found that idea very offensive. I considered people who held that viewpoint to be suspect (engaging in political machinations, or using fluid recollections of conversations to their advantage). I still think there's a grain of truth to my suspicions, but I've learned to recognize that there are acceptable reasons for undocumented conversations.
- Buttons840 6y ago
  There's still phone calls. Any co-worker you trust enough to have an "off the record" conversation with wouldn't turn down a "hey, can I call you?" request. They might think it's weird at first, but would understand later I'm sure.
  - RHSeeger 6y ago
    I've called coworkers literally just to rant to someone before. Sometimes, you need to complain, but having a record of that is not helpful in any way.
    - Aeolun 6y ago
      Private chat works for me. Corporate IT might be able to see it, but I’m not saying anything there that my boss isn’t already aware of.
- core-questions 6y ago
  > I've learned to recognize that there are acceptable reasons for undocumented conversations. It seems bizarre to me that one could think otherwise. Unless you meant but did not specify that you're only speaking of line-of-business workplace communication, of course. Otherwise, I find it hard to believe you could forge any actual relationships with people if you try to have a record for everything.
  - EvanAnderson 6y ago
    I do mean in a business context. I still feel like a lot of business value fails to be captured when important decisions are made in an undocumented medium. The context and supporting facts associated with a decision are often just as important as the decision itself.
Gibbon1 6y ago
I spent about ten years with field service as part of my job. What that taught me is every form of communication has it's uses. For full effect you often need multiple types. Talk on the phone. Send a follow up email. Then talk on the phone again. Update the original email into a formal doc. Two engineers with a whiteboard can solve some problems in a few minutes that would take days of back and forth over text. Formal text though is usually very good. Especially if the author can produce high quality output quickly. This is my particular failing.

EvanAnderson 6y ago

It's worth noting that some people specifically see verbal communication's undocumented-by-default nature as a feature. When I was younger I found that idea very offensive. I considered people who held that viewpoint to be suspect (engaging in political machinations, or using fluid recollections of conversations to their advantage). I still think there's a grain of truth to my suspicions, but I've learned to recognize that there are acceptable reasons for undocumented conversations.

Buttons840 6y ago
There's still phone calls. Any co-worker you trust enough to have an "off the record" conversation with wouldn't turn down a "hey, can I call you?" request. They might think it's weird at first, but would understand later I'm sure.
- RHSeeger 6y ago
  I've called coworkers literally just to rant to someone before. Sometimes, you need to complain, but having a record of that is not helpful in any way.
  - Aeolun 6y ago
    Private chat works for me. Corporate IT might be able to see it, but I’m not saying anything there that my boss isn’t already aware of.
core-questions 6y ago
> I've learned to recognize that there are acceptable reasons for undocumented conversations. It seems bizarre to me that one could think otherwise. Unless you meant but did not specify that you're only speaking of line-of-business workplace communication, of course. Otherwise, I find it hard to believe you could forge any actual relationships with people if you try to have a record for everything.
- EvanAnderson 6y ago
  I do mean in a business context. I still feel like a lot of business value fails to be captured when important decisions are made in an undocumented medium. The context and supporting facts associated with a decision are often just as important as the decision itself.

Gibbon1 6y ago

I spent about ten years with field service as part of my job. What that taught me is every form of communication has it's uses. For full effect you often need multiple types. Talk on the phone. Send a follow up email. Then talk on the phone again. Update the original email into a formal doc. Two engineers with a whiteboard can solve some problems in a few minutes that would take days of back and forth over text. Formal text though is usually very good. Especially if the author can produce high quality output quickly. This is my particular failing.