58 35 7:    Studies have shown that when humans converse face to face, 58% of the message is conveyed by body language, 35% by inflection and the tone of our voice, and only 7% by our actual words.  As you reflect on this, you know it is true.  Consider how many times in your life your words have been misinterpreted.  How many times have you asked a question of someone and gotten an answer to an entirely different question.  How many times have you sent an email and gotten a response that had nothing to do with the words you sent.  Reflect on the phone conversations you have had just this week, and consider how many times have you been misinterpreted over the phone recently.  It’s astounding, isn’t it?

So let’s use the statistics above to evaluate the effectiveness of communication at work.  Meeting in person and being a clear speaker and a great listener is 100% effective.  Speaking by phone only includes the words you choose (7%) and the tone and inflection of your voice (35%) for a total of 42% effectiveness… a big drop!  Using email rests solely on your words carrying your message effectively, with only a 7% chance of clarity.  Seven percent… wow!

My recommendation for effective communication is to use email only for the purpose of transferring pure information:  meeting times, schedule changes, attachments of documents or reports.

In summary, if you own a business or manage a department, resist the idea to bring efficiencies in by emphasizing emails and project management software in place of live phone calls and in person meetings. Remember, with the statistics above, a short walk or drive or computer video chat to have an in person conversation can increase the effectiveness 13 fold over sending an email.

Raise your effectiveness from 7% to 100%, and go and chat in person.