I'll see your email and raise you a phone call!
Thank you Michelle (of Golden Practices) for mentioning my email etiquette post and taking the thought further to embrace phone calls:
Michelle goes on to say:
Another rudeness that Gerry's post makes me think of are abruptly ended phone calls. The failure to say "good-bye," or even "thanks," and simply ending a call by dropping the phone onto its base--often loudly--is more common with lawyers than accountants. And it happens a lot...usually by men.
When did people become too busy (or important?) to say "Good-bye," "Hello," or "Be Well"?
I am asked very frequently by wonderful lawyers how to they might raise client satisfaction and attract better work. As Peter Paul and Mary sang (and Bob Dylan wrote): "the answer my friend, is blowing in the wind..." May we all improve our listening skills - Thank you, Michelle!
Gerry, I believe what may be happening in some of these interactions is a mismatch of listening styles: people, content, action, and time. Here is a description of the four styles:
http://changingminds.org/techniques/listening/listening_styles.htm
As I am sure you know at least instinctively because you are such a good communicator, one way of creating rapport is being aware of these styles and matching them. I believe some studies have shown that women tend to be more people and content, and men tend to be more time and action. Research also has shown that these styles vary across cultures. For example:
http://ijpor.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/9/3/233
Great discussion.
Phone calls and emails are branding "moments of truth". More is caught than taught in these critical exchanges.
You and Michelle are speaking to a simple and immediate way of improving any professional service firm's brand!