If You Want to Know What They’re Thinking or What Is Going On … CALL!!!

If You Want to Know What They’re Thinking or What Is Going On … CALL!!!

  In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. For a long time the telephone was the number one way individuals communicated during my lifetime when they wanted to speak to another person and find out what was happening when that person was not in their immediate vicinity. And, while today we have phones that allow us to text, take pictures, provide us information at our finger tips, etc., it alarms me to see more and more people who are actually reluctant to dial their telephone, reach a person on the other end, have an actual conversation with them, and gain knowledge of information they did not have previously. In fact, I remember an episode of my favorite all-time comedy, Seinfeld, where Jerry dialed a party and was actually “disappointed”, when he connected with the party as opposed to their answering machine.

Just what is this pre-disposition that many of us currently have against dialing the telephone? Have we forgotten how to have a human conversation? Are we afraid of being considered a pest by the other party? Do we feel that the issue we may be concerned about is “their problem, not mine”, even when me may be a key link in helping get something done? Or do we take the attitude that I made my call, now it is their turn to call me back?

I am sure many of us have felt any of these feelings and others I have not indicated. However, if something is important to you, and you want to either keep it moving, or keep it from coming back to be a bother to you when you least want it to, following up is critical to make that happen. And, while follow-up can take many forms, and often individuals feel they will resort to email or text as their method of follow-up, the only thing that is more pro-active than picking up a person to call them and get an answer is to meet with them in person. So, in absence of the meet in person option, dialing up the person to whom you want to speak is something that should not be overlooked.

What advantages does follow-up by telephone give you? For one you get to hear tone of voice. Is the other person confident about what they are saying? Do they sound hesitant, or unsure of themselves? Is there a key piece of information they were missing in the process that you can now relay to them? Telephone gives us all these advantages. Telephone also can bring us closer to people whom we may work with frequently, but have not met in person. I know that I have made relationships with others that I have never had the opportunity of meeting, but feel a personal connection to, because I have gotten to know them through telephone conversations.

Yes, people can screen calls and determine if they want to answer your call and speak to you or not. I am guilty of doing that myself, particularly when I don’t recognize a telephone number or do not want to be solicited by a telemarketer or advertiser. But, in situations where you already have an established relationship, need to gain information or clarity on an issue, follow on the status of something, or are not sure you have interpreted information correctly in written form or an online site, nothing beats picking up the phone and calling. Consider doing so the next time you are wondering what someone else may be thinking, when they have not called you back, or you know a crucial deadline is coming and action needs to be taken. It is better than just “stewing” and wondering, “WHAT HAPPENED?”