It’s been a strange year, hasn’t it? The pandemic has taught us a few lessons, as well – perhaps not all bad. The rapid changes that our lives and businesses have been through will, in some cases, have long-lasting repercussions. One of those is the way we communicate with each other. You know what I’m talking about. You just got off a Zoom call a few minutes ago and you’re about to go into a Microsoft Teams project meeting later today.

Do you think we’ll fall back into the “get on a plane and go to the meeting” mentality again? Not so easily. Most employers that I work with tell me that even in their most travel-intensive roles, such as business development or sales/marketing, they see themselves greatly reducing the in-person time requirement for getting the job done. They believe that half the travel costs they were chalking up to the company tab had been wasted on airports, delayed flights, rental cars and hotel rooms. It just makes sense to stay with certain pandemic habits and continue the emphasis on electronic communications across business units and B2B environments.

This month’s column is not focused on how to better use Zoom or Teams and so on—that’s been done a zillion times already as you’ll find out with a Google search. Instead, I want to help you optimize the other communication tool that will continue to remain important as this rush to electronic 2-way meet ups integrates itself into our lives.

Zoom Burn-Out
Do you ever feel like it’s just too much work to sit down in hour-after-hour of Zoom calls? I do. It’s a strain. First off, we’re constantly looking at each other in close up views, sharing “eye contact” across the ether. And man, does that get old. Sure, I’ve attended the occasional early morning Zoom meeting with a business shirt and pajama bottoms, because who cares what can’t be seen. But the novelty of that wore off about three months into the pandemic. Today, I just get strained, mentally, and physically as well (neck aches and general discomfort in my chair) from all of the focus on simultaneous Audio and Video communication.

I used to enjoy walking around with a phone, engaged in stimulating conversation with someone who themselves may have been at their kitchen table, feet up, talking with me in comfort about the quality of life they were seeking in a change to a new employer. Those were the days.

But wait, why does that have to go away? The other day, a candidate who I needed to talk to contacted me to set up a meeting. She had some time and wanted to hear more, and I got the almost robotic Zoom invite after I agreed on a time. I asked myself, do I really need one more Zoom call added to my day? Why don’t I just take a walk around my lovely Arizona desert and call her while I am out?

Not only was she happy to accommodate me, but we both seemed to be at our best by focusing on the words spoken and listened to. The odd elements of electronic visual communication such as the background behind the person, the distraction of the “how do I look” element that’s always there in front of you on the screen, went away, only to be replaced by a great conversation—solid content conducted away from our computers and in environments conducive to friendly, open discussion.

Sure, I’ll need to talk to Susan again via Skype or Zoom when the time comes that I want to do a more in-depth interview. But the good old-fashioned phone proved more valuable to me than Zoom for this first general discussion, and I think that many might be missing the comfort that the phone can bring back to communications.

It’s Time to Pick Up the Phone Again
Everyone has one on the desk and we’ve all got one in our pocket or purse. And despite the Zoom, Skype and Teams push, it remains one of the most important tools you can use, particularly if you are in a job search.
Still, there are some important differences when using the phone, and after a year or more of Zoom, it’s easy to forget that you do not have the ability to see or use body language in this medium. Instead, you sometimes need to gear up the emotion and ensure that it makes its way into the conversation. In a Zoom call, your body language or facial expressions show the other party how you feel about something. But if you’re charged up and enthused on the phone, it has to be reflected in the sound of your voice—and because no one likes “phony” enthusiasm, it has to be real.

If you’re talking to someone about a new job, an opportunity that really resonates with you and you feel great about the fit, don’t you think you should stand up and get away from that chair? It’s amazing what happens to the sound of your voice when you are no longer in a seated position and have assumed an excited, eager posture. They don’t have to see you, they can sense that, even on the phone. A major part of using the phone again is to get away from the physical location of where you’ve been using Zoom.

Another big difference for the phone and Zoom/Skype/Teams is that those are scheduled meetings, and for the phone, we’re used to a much more informal process. The impromptu nature of a phone call is both good and bad. I will sometimes appreciate the interruption and sit back away from the computer screen, needing the break. At other times, though, it is not a good time to talk. It’s really up to the person who initiated the call to ensure it’s a good time.

I’ve made a habit out of checking on this in the first few seconds of my call. For example, “Do you have a brief moment for a question, or am I catching you at a bad time?” Never assume that you can launch into a 10-minute networking pitch just because someone answered the phone!

In Closure: Tips for Working the Phone
Here are a couple of essential elements for successful communications when using the phone:

• Be nice to gatekeepers. Basic courtesy goes a long way. If you’re trying to reach someone via the phone who may not know you well, the first person you’ll talk to will be her executive assistant, or “gatekeeper” so to speak. These folks are used to being treated in a haphazard manner and sometimes even lied to by people who want to get past them and to the boss. If you are friendly, and explain your intent, you stand a much better chance of getting through. Even though I’m a headhunter, I tell them that. I’ve rarely known of someone who didn’t want to talk to a good recruiter for five minutes.
• Use voicemail to your advantage. Voicemail is either a plague on mankind or a boon to the job seeker, depending on whom you ask. Personally, I hated voicemail until I realized that busy people will only return those calls which sound the most professional—in other words, there is a screening that takes place and it is perfectly possible to win in that scenario. Most “annoying” callers, the kind who are selling something, leave very little information. A good voicemail message on the other hand means including your full name, a phone number, a good time to call you back (or a message which states that you will try again), and a short comment about why you are calling, followed by a promise to be brief. It is very important to state why you are calling. For example: “Dr. Smith, the reason that I am calling is that I have a quick question for you about a search that I am working on in CMC Regulatory for gene therapy. I promise to be brief, I know how busy you are.”

It’s my hope that we can all just back away a bit from the constant push for full A-V communications, and start enjoying (once again) the simplicity of using the phone to meet when it is one-on-one. There’s a Zoom option, as well—disconnect the video!

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David G. Jensen
Contributing Editor
Dave Jensen is CEO and Founder of CTI Executive Search. He can be reached at (928) 274-2266 or via davejensen@careertrax.com; www.careertrax.com.