As someone
who writes for a living, I spend hours every week gathering information -- much
of it online but definitely by talking to real, breathing human beings.
Occasionally, I conduct e-mail interviews, such as when a source is traveling
internationally or has laryngitis, as was the case recently. It's tempting, and
sometimes quite painless to do all of my reporting and fact gathering through
e-mail and social media. Why not?
Yet, this
can be a trap. I worry about who’s actually on the other end of that stream of
bits. Is it really the expert/executive or their assistant? Is it a bot? Have
they said the same spiel to 10 other people in the last month?
I am a
closet introvert and love working happily at my desk for hours, switching
between different screens and message streams. It's fast, it's fun and better
yet, I don't have to stumble over my own dumb words with a stranger on the
line. I resist, however, and continue the old-fashioned but much safer method
of dialing the phone and speaking English, just like they taught me in J school
many years ago.
My husband,
a work-at-home investment banker, is on the phone nearly the entire day. At
times the constant drone of his voice below me in the basement office makes me
batty. He hates social media and won’t
return my text messages unless they have to do with dinner.
There's something to be said for his obsession with the phone. Live
conversations are real, in the moment and active. They have innuendos and
inflections of voice that indicate the real story. They promise an invigorating debate of raw,
unedited ideas that texting and e-mail cannot replicate.
Can't we all
use a little more of the real communication?
I have one editor who always calls me before e-mailing. It's refreshing.
Sometimes he uses the phone to tell me something that could have taken two seconds
online. Yet, I like to hear his gentle Midwestern voice. I think sometimes, he
enjoys hearing mine as well.
The human
voice is beautiful. Please, people, let’s not forget how to use it.
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