At Inventium, we default to asynchronous communication, and it’s been really effective. But… it’s not without some drawbacks. 

The time saved cutting back on in-person or virtual meetings can sometimes get pushed into writing detailed, thoughtful emails, and you end up back at square one. I’ve tried to combat that by sending shorter, straight-to-the-point messages, but they can occasionally come across as abrupt, or even cold. 

My solution has been to send audio messages instead. I can get a message across quickly, but use my actual voice to convey the right tone.

I’ve even started defaulting to audio messages with my friends and in my dating life. When something doesn’t warrant a phone call, but would be a wall of text on iMessage, the voice memo is a lifesaver. 

This is how I decide when to send an audio message, the technology I use, and some of the evidence-based benefits of audio vs written communication. 

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If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a short monthly newsletter that contains three cool things that I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.co 

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Production Support from Deadset Studios

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

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