As communicators, we like to embrace all means and methods of communication, but we have noticed, of late, that we don’t hear that familiar ring ring of the telephone very often.
Until last week…when the editor of a leading PR industry title CALLED US! He is someone we hound regularly, mainly via his voicemail, email and Twitter but the phone call was a lovely surprise. We had a very productive chat, found out lots about him, as well as what he is looking for, for his next article. All in all, everyone was happy.
We call editors regularly and tend to communicate with them over email too. We use Twitter and LinkedIn to reach out to them from a different angle and the same applies to clients, suppliers, and wider industry contacts.
But in this brave new world of communication, are we actually speaking less? Research* shows that more than three quarters of adults in the UK own a smartphone but the number of people making phone calls is falling, as just three quarters of smartphone users make one voice call a week.
We feel more connected than ever as we seem to be constantly engaged in a conversation or dialogue of some sort, whether it be over text, Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, but are we really focused on that discussion?
This is where the phone call wins as it’s a quick fire dialogue, requires immediate attention and allows us to relate to the other person and often glean more information, emotion and satisfaction from the conversation.
It may be over 130 years old, but we’re championing a revival of the telephone and talking to people, using it as Alexander Graham Bell intended.
So expect to hear from us soon, or call us anytime – whether it’s to find out more about one of our clients or campaigns, or to speak to us about how we can help your business with public relations or creative activity – and we’d be happy to talk!
*http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2015/sep/08/one-in-four-uk-smartphone-weekly-phone-calls
