Please read this great business-life advice by Judy Herrmann if you answer “Yes” to even one of these questions:
1. Do you ever send multiple emails to communicate the same information?
2. Have you ever had critical information in an email ignored?
3. Do you ever get seriously anxious before making a phone call?
4. Have you ever distracted yourself with busy work to put off a critical phone call?
Even kids can do it!
I’m sure you get the punch line. Herrmann’s advice from her Strictly Business post suggests that we pick up the phone more often — especially to overcome the limitations of email.
It’s still valuable to read. Herrmann is a master photographer-businessperson, and her “Pick Up the Phone!” advice is particularly helpful because:
1. She admits that making phone calls can be super nerve racking.
2. She gives us specific examples of when and how the phone trumps email in the business of photography.
Not the Phone!
I, for one, am terrified of the phone. There’s only two things that scare me more than making phone calls — nuclear war and carnies.
This is frustrating because I understood exactly why Scott Mc Kiernan, founder of ZUMA Press, once told me that photojournalists should publish their phone numbers prominently on their homepage.
Right after reading “Pick Up the Phone!” I took a deep breath and (without — gasp! — making an phone appointment by email), I picked up the phone and called her. We had the best long-distance conversation I’ve had so far in 2011, sharing ideas and emotions and building our relationship in a ways that is simply not possible via email.
