Answering the question: Should I send this as an email?
One of the biggest challenges for remote or digital communication with colleagues is mastering the subtle art of finding the right frequency of communication. How often should you send emails and how much information should be in them? What do you do when you can’t walk into your coworkers office or see their face when you deliver a new idea?
Basecamp recommends asynchronous communication. In googling the definition to that word, I found this really wonderful article. https://doist.com/blog/asynchronous-communication/
I actually started to feel peaceful by the end of it because it had so many helpful communication ideas. Here are some highlights:
What is asynchronous communication?
Simply put, asynchronous communication is when you send a message without expecting an immediate response. For example, you send an email. I open and respond to the email several hours later.
In contrast, synchronous communication is when you send a message and the recipient processes the information and responds immediately. In-person communication, like meetings, are examples of purely synchronous communication. You say something, I receive the information as you say it, and respond to the information right away.
In general, use synchronous communication when the following is true:
- You want to build rapport with people (e.g., a 1-on-1 or team meeting).
- You need to provide critical feedback or discuss other sensitive topics.
- You have a lot of unknowns and you want to brainstorm different ideas and solutions.
- There are a lot of moving variables and you want to bring everyone on the same page quickly, e.g., via a project kickoff meeting.
- A crisis happens that requires immediate attention, e.g., a server crashes. We use Telegram with the notifications turned on at all times for emergency communications only.
Synchronous communication should be the exception, not the rule.