Fast Company | Business + Innovation: Is there anything more frustrating than waiting for an answer and getting silence? Someone is holding onto your money, your idea, or your very future, and you need feedback before you can breathe (or just buy groceries).
Tactfulness and persistence are both important, but exactly how tactful and how persistent, and also, do phone calls work? We got the points of view from several authorities on the subject on what makes for successful pestering. (Results may vary.)
7 comments:
This was a really good article. It happens all the time that someone says that they will do something by a certain time and then…. nothing. And then there is the awkward waiting period during which you have no idea whether or not to get in touch with that person.
I think that the idea of a Thank You is really good: a nice positive check-in, a reminder of the conversation you had, and a way to remind the company that you are still waiting for a response (in one way or another). I also would have never thought about what day of the week or time of day to check-in, regardless whom I was trying to get information from. Now, I will think of the department/person and their schedule, and plan to ask for the information accordingly. I think that this would solve a lot of wait time and a lot of forgetfulness on the part of the person who is supposed to send information.
This was a pretty informative article. It makes sense that, similar to theatre, the art of the followup is all about timing! I had not particularly previously considered the problems with sending an email that is received late on Friday or early on Monday, or some of the underlying assumptions that follow that. It makes sense that the person you are dealing with is probably swamped anyways, so figuring out the best time to get your message in the door is more important than I thought initially..
Not sure how I feel though about the don't call thing. I think that probably depends on who you are dealing with (and how old they are). I feel that calls can be useful for communicating urgent items, and that they are at least worth giving a shot, at least in conjunction with an email. Lastly, I think the going over somebody who's not responding is a good tactic, but might easily get that passed over person annoyed or angry with you. Nobody likes feeling like they've been put out of the loop, even if it is their own fault for not being responsive to your inquiries.
These are pretty good tips and I'm glad to find out that I've been adhering to several of these follow-up rules already. I've been on both ends of this spectrum and it's equally as frustrating on both. It sucks having to wait for a reply, especially when you're on a creative high. You just want to collaborate and bounce ideas off each other at the speed of light but obviously that's impossible at times with tightly penciled in schedules. For that reason, I always like to have face-to-face interaction whenever possible. This is also precisely why I like talking on the phone more than texting when exchanging important information- it's quicker, tone can't be read a different way, and it's nice hearing the voice of another human being. I think one of the most useful tips that this article provides is writing a thank-you-note after an interview. Don't underestimate the power of being friendly and courteous-- it can really go a long way. In a sometimes jaded work place, being warm and approachable is a shiny gem among a pile of dull rocks.
I personally find follow up emails to be the hardest emails to always send. You do not want to send them too soon because then you feel like you are bombarding the person you are sending the email to. However, you don’t want send them to late because then the receiver has forgotten everything that you have talked about. Then, you do not want to write to much because you just had a full conversation so what else is there to talk about. But you don’t want to send nothing because that makes it seem like you were not paying attention. My approach has always been to write something immediately following the conversation and then send it to someone else to read. That way I buy myself some time while making sure that there is purpose to the email. All in all, I definitely see where one is walking a very fine line.
This article is really helpful. Breaking follow up down into what is best for each situation and why makes a lot of sense. I tend to be fairly stressed out with following up because I don’t want to be annoying, especially if they’ve seen it but haven’t gotten around to it, but I still want to remind them in case they forgot. The fact following up is different for different situations might be complicated, but it makes a lot of sense and it is nice to see the guidelines laid out. I also really like the reason given for each rule/suggestion since it will be easier to remember what to do since I understand why it is done that way. I found the variation surrounding when the the week an email should be sent very interesting. It is unsurprising that emails often arrive at bad times given that what is a good time varies so much from industry to industry.
I found this article to be really helpful. I’m terrible at sending follow up emails, most of the time I manage to either be too vague or come off incredibly stiff and formal. The way the writer broke everything into steps and then actually explained their reasoning for what they were saying was great. It makes it much easier to understand why they feel it’s the right way to do things, not to mention easier to remember. I especially liked what the writer said about the timeframe of follow up emails. That’s one of the parts I’ve always found trickiest to balance, finding the right point between too often and not often enough. In my experience the week gap this article recommended seems to be the way to go. Its enough time to keep from being annoying but its often enough that they probably won’t forget you and you’re able to show that you’re still interested in what’s going on. The part I don’t totally agree with is when they were talking about how you should always go through email. In general, I agree with this but I think there are exceptions. For example, if you were dealing with a local group actually going over in person to talk to someone can be valuable.
I think a really important point in this article was about how the rules for following up vary depending on what you're following up on. For example, following up every week on a job interview is considered acceptable, but doing so with an idea pitch is seen as too persistent. Understanding the situation in which you need to follow up is one of the most important parts of knowing the most acceptable time to get in contact, and if you do understand, it lessens the feeling that you're being unnecessarily annoying. This article is really helpful regarding timing and the varying situations in which you can find yourself, and sets out very clear guidelines about what to do at what time.
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