Small Business Communications Needs a Balance Between Old and New

written on March 16, 2009 by Steve Krisfalusy

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Today, with email being or becoming the primary tool of choice for small businesses, it does have it's con's!  We are all familar with the benefits of email: easy & quick group communications, documented communications, access via multiple vechiles or tools and so on.

The two biggest con's of email in a small business environment/culture (or any) are: Email Etiquette and the reduction of 1-1 contact and or social communications.

Email Etiquette: Few have ever had any training in email etiquette but most have found out (the hard way) that emails can & do convey emotions.  They can also be misinterupted easily based on just one or two words or capitaliztion or bolding.  This is something we must all be aware of and take extra caution before sending out an email, especially if we are emtional at the time - be aware those emotions will show.  The best advice is to follow what I try to do (and still mess up) and that is to delay sending an email when I am emotional.  Another tactic is to write the email and save it as a draft.  After a few hours or day, I go back and read it, usually making it much softer than originally written and glad I did.

Small Business work environments: (or even large) We are becoming more and more dependent (lazy) and sending someone an email that is right across the hall instead of getting up and talking 1-1.  This not only impacts your ability to establish or maintain a relationship with a peer but it also becomes a crutch.  This way we can avoid contact with those that we select, and eliminate the need to improve our own communication skills.  It also helps us make that thing we sit on bigger but then our answer is to pay for a gym membership or justify it saying better time management.

To help us fill the personal contact void we have/are created by using email, technologies answer is more technology (using a form of e-mail) and today we call it "On line Social Networking".

Business cultures and environments are similar to life itself - no extreme is usually good but a balance of the best of both seems to make the most sense.  Talk to your Management & peers about this and you can even have fun turning it into a game.  Be aware that these little things are what make small business environments teh wonderful cultures they are or can be - that is priceless!