If you are aware of any helpful sites, please let me know.

write-type@live.com

Perhaps it’s because I’m a strategy and marketing consultant for high-profile individuals, but I continually ask myself, “What’s the most effective way to get our point across to Mr. X? What (medium of delivery) will let Ms. Y know our interest/concern/involvement for this issue or occasion is genuine and authentic? Which of these tools?”

Yes, for a majority of the communiques, e-mail is the best fit — for delivery/response time, formatting and attachment options, verification of details/time/who-said-what-to-whom. YET, at the same time, the scarcity of “real mail” makes it all the more notable. An example….

Not long ago, a neighbouring firm received a business-sized letter envelope, plain white, typewritten, real stamp. As I stood in their doorway for a brief visit, the scene that ensued with the letter’s arrival was worthy of at least a film short: 1 receptionist, 1 mid-level exec, and the owner of the company stood around the desk where the postal clerk had delivered the letter. No one touched it; everyone stared at it. “What’s that?” “A letter. Are we in trouble with somebody?” “Who’d want to sue us? ” “Well…(gulp)…I’ll open it.” A tense silence as the letter knife is drawn carefully across the top of the envelope. “Oh! It’s from ___. He sent us a gift certificate.” “Wow! Nice of him. Wow!”

All to say, a real letter, even in a business context, might get more attention, more attention than you want, or none at all if it burdens the recipient with a time-sensitive, labour-intensive response. The mere anticipation of a potential problem caused three otherwise sane, responsible professionals to stop in their tracks.

So, as with any communique, conversation or entertainment, know your audience, know what you want to say, know the best way to deliver and “wrap” your message.

I’ll bet you’re right. I’m even beginning to use text—or at least Twitter—more and more.

Mike

Interestingly, I’ll bet most of your readers under 30 would write the same post about e-mail.

“E-mail? Puh-leeze. Send me a text or just forget it.”

;-)

I would tell your friend to get a Mac. If he can’t make that work, I’d buy a dog. My dog picked up email in no time. (However, he sometimes drools on the keyboard. Nasty!)

Thanks,

Mike