Remember the days before fax machines, cell phones and email? When I first started working the majority of my interactions with people were on the phone and in person. It was easier to forge relationships, there were fewer miscommunications and things got done faster. I know that might seem hard to believe, but it’s true.

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I was on vacation last week and had a long list of follow up for Monday morning. Typically, I would have started the day firing off a bunch of emails, and waiting for responses. Instead, I picked up the phone and started calling people.

\nTo my surprise, people picked up the phone and we were able to connect on a personal level and then get on to our business. No waiting for hours if not days for an email response, forever stalled. If I got someone’s voicemail they called back right away, it was great. I was energized and felt productive.\n\nI am not saying technology isn’t useful, but having a good old fashion conversation with someone goes a long way. It lets customers and employees know you care, it helps identify more opportunities and can achieve results quicker.\n\nPeople are drowning in email. Messages get buried and lost never to be read. But I am finding people tend to treat a phone message with more immediacy and urgency.\n\nSo reach out and call employees, customers and peers instead of emailing and see if your experience mirrors mine.