Cross - Atlantic Communication

Cross - Atlantic Communication

Communicating via email is not only an essential part of modern business but sometime the more accepted means of communication. I am just as guilty as the next person for emailing across the office to a colleague only a few meters away. A job that in some cases can be quicker to do in person, and when you require an urgent response you can just call them or walk over to them can instant resolve. However when you’re waiting for a response from someone in another continent it can be a little more frustrating.

I recently got a contact from a colleague I share an office with, and yes he emailed me the information before we actually talked about it. The contact was with an opera school at the University of Kentucky USA, who may be looking for a costume designer from England to work on one of there shows. With the possibility of being able to establish a collaborative project I jumped at the chance to contact them. I did however suggest to my colleague that he emailed them first to introduce me. This email was sent three weeks ago and so far there has not been a reply. With further investigation we have discovered the contact has been out of the country and unable to get to a computer. He has now returned to a week of technical rehearsals and hasn’t had a minute to ‘check his email’s’. We’ve all been there. However this early experience of web communication starts me thinking of the advantages and disadvantage of communicating by email

Email is instant and can be written in the middle of the night. Additionally you don’t have to worry what time it is in the country you are writing to. This non visual communication allows you the opportunity to read over what it is you want to discuss. It allows you to change, correct and alter what you have written, something you are unable to do on the phone or in a face to face conversation. However it is not instant. Your timescale may be different to the person on receiving end of the email and unlike a colleague on the other side of your office you can’t just wonder over and get things sorted out. Additionally though you can review your email before sending it, words can often be misread or the expression behind them ignored. These early observations have brought me to consider the following points:

Successful email communication needs structure.
Both parties need to know and agree the ‘rules’ e.g timeframe, length and frequency. A director may want to email every 2 hours with further thoughts but this may be inappropriate and overwhelming for the designer.
A relationship needs to be established so the personality of the writer is understood (though this is not always possible, as personal issues like paranoia could make one read into an email something that is not there, especially with tight deadlines and little sleep)
Either one face to face meeting or a video conference may be a good way to establish a relationship.
A record of emails should be kept for later discussion or clarification if necessary