Today I ordered a prescription refill from my health plan through the automated telephone refill line. The line is normally easy and efficient. For nearly every choice, the user has to press the # (pound) key. This is a breeze, just a touch of a key, on a normal digital phone. But on my cell phone, pressing the # key required using two thumbs (for Function and the B key). It was clumsy using two thumbs while trying not to miss any prompts. I messed up twice.
My health plan has always used the 1 and the # key to confirm choices on the phone. But does it make sense now with the widespread use of cell phones even among aging baby boomers?
If you have always done something a certain way in business communication, it is time to rethink your processes.
I recently revised the sample emails I use in business writing classes, because senior executives in Seattle have told me they would never read them on their BlackBerrys.
I have replaced business letters with business email for writing class clients who tell me they never send letters anymore.
When I teach classes for people who write for the Web, I include research on how people read online, something I never did in the 20th century.
What have you always done the same way in your business communication? Why not slow down for a minute and consider it?
Lynn
Syntax Training
