Learning Styles – Podcast Transcript

by virtualworks | Aug 15, 2022 | Transcript

Learning Styles – Podcast Transcript

Barbara:                              Hi, I’m Barbara Best, and this is humans working remotely. A podcast where I’ll show you how to meet the expanding needs of your organization by utilizing alternative solutions for operational staffing, through expert insight and meaningful conversations with business professionals will talk about common challenges and proven strategies that will provide you with more time to focus on your organization’s mission, relationship building and other high value growth activities.

Did you know that there are three basic types of learning styles, the three most common are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. To learn, we depend on our senses to process the information around us. Keep these ideas in mind when you’re presenting to your next potential client, to let them know how great you are, are when you’re doing your presentation. With me today is my colleague, Kerri, and we’re going to discuss and explore these areas of learning and provide more insights. So Kerri, what do you think? What do you think about these three areas? Or do you find one more popular than the other or so everybody different?

Kerri:                                     I think everybody’s different. And the challenge is creating presentation, because you can’t go to everybody and say, so what kind of learner are you?

Barbara:                              Yeah, exactly.

Kerri:                                     A lot of a lot of people know. And then there’s another chunk of a lot of people that have no clue. They just, they learn. And then and they couldn’t tell you what it is about learning that works. And if they have had a bad experience, they don’t necessarily blame it on the way it’s taught, but the teacher, and a lot of times, that’s not the case. But that’s so that’s the challenge. It’s I think it’s a it’s a mixed bag, it’s just a matter of finding ways to create a presentation that will help everybody from each area.

Barbara:                              Yeah, and I think everyone has maybe different amounts of each type of learning style in them. There’s a combination of all three and it depends on the delivery mode, I’m sure, learning via zoom, which we all do today, is much different than learning in an auditorium for example.

Kerri:                                     Yes. Or or at a big boardroom table. Yeah, again, yeah, so totally different. But what we have that’s the key, right, we have to find a way to make sure we can reach everybody on some level, and then hope that they can grasp and move forward from there with what they need to know.

Barbara:                              Yeah, yeah, for sure. I’m a visual learner first, when I need to learn something, I read books, I collect books, but I also read a lot of books, I do a lot of reading. That’s how I learned. And as I’m reading, I also take numerous detailed notes. I’ve got stacks of tape flags that are right next to me. And I especially remember when that book came out The Da Vinci Code, when it was first published, it was this fantastically huge, it looked almost like an encyclopedia glossy pages, and there was pictures in it and as well as the the text or narrative of the book. And I just happened to open it, it was my husband was reading it at the time. And I happened to open it one day and I I literally got sucked right into those pages. Because it’s it there was color pictures, there was this wonderful context and text in this lovely writing and everything. And I could not put that thing down. And so that’s when I learned hey I must be a you know, I’m a visual learner, because I just, it just draws me right in. And I’ve never forgotten the book, which is one of my favorites, not because it’s controversial, but when it was in first print, it was in this lovely, almost encyclopedia bound issue with, you know, lots of color, and you know, it was just a wonderful experience that I still remember to this day.

Kerri:                                     I don’t have a specific book like that. But I do have, when I I have reactions to books that I can feel the paper difference. And where I can so, because I know I’m a kinesthetic learner. I mean, for me, it’s when all else fails, read the directions. I unless I’m studying for school, I used to write notes constantly, because that’s how I studied. But when it comes to learning, I would rather sit there and watch it and then have somebody let me do it so they can watch what I’m doing and learn. But with a book, I get sucked into books. I love to read anyway. But if I had a book that has the gold leaf that you can feel, or the really old, like not even old, sometimes old, sometimes new, but the way that they’re bound, and the materials they’re bound in, that feeling to me will just make me that much more engaged in the idea of the book, regardless of what the books about. Yeah, feels nice. So yeah, I’m all about that experience. That personal experience.

Barbara:                              Yeah, I agree completely. And I, I’m a paper book person, I’m I do have an E book reader, I’m not so keen on the e-books. For that reason. I love the smell of the ink and the paper. And the smell when you open an old book, or you take off the flyleaf, or, you know, it just it’s just a totally different experience. And that’s where visual learning comes into play I think.

Kerri:                                     Even the turning for me I find it’s the turning of the pages.

Barbara:                              Yes, yes.

Kerri:                                     It’s scrolling or pushing a button. I have an old COBOL so if you push a button, and it moves, because it’s old. I miss turning pages. I mean, I was never one to fold down pages. But I missed the sound of the pages turning?

Barbara:                              Yeah, I know.

Kerri:                                     It’s just it’s, it’s bizarre. The other thing I wanted to stick in here about visual learners that I discovered when I started doing presentations, you can’t give somebody a presentation where you want them to listen to you, and you want them to read. Because it uses the same part of the brain, to read and to listen. So they can’t, they can’t do both. And if what so when I was doing it, I was always having I would have imagery on screens, and then I would talk to it or just like a total not words. Total, not words, that makes no sense. But anyway, imagery and and, you know, stuff that would make the point without it’s all you have to read this. Because a lot of times I’ve been in workshops or presentations, and basically they’re putting on the screen, the exact same words that they’re reading. And if they’re not exactly, they’re so close that you notice when there’s a mistake. Totally defeats the purpose as far as I’m concerned. Anyway, it was a really good it was good to, for me to learn that because I’m not a visual learner. So I wanted to, you know, when I found that out, I was really grateful, because I know it makes it easier for people who do learn that way to do it right for them.

Barbara:                              Yeah, that’s all. And that goes back to talking to a potential client. If at all possible, try and find out how they learn. So then when you’re speaking or giving your presentation, you have the most impact. And they’ll go away thinking, Oh, yeah, I’ve really got what they do. Now. I’ve got to remember that yes, you know, right.

Kerri:                                     Yes. And it’s not about the challenge. It’s the challenge is not always easy to get the information from them. But if you’re talking about doing a presentation for them, say they asked you to do one for your team. Find out which one of the presentations they’ve had, were most successful with the team. That would be a good way. Because it’s not like, again, can’t really say well, how do you look to learn? But if you can find out how you know how the team has responded to different types of presentations, then you’ve got an end like you say, and you come up, you know, shiny as a gold diamond or gold bell, because you’ve come through and you’ve given this great thing, meanwhile, you’re just using the information they gave you that said,

Barbara:                              That’s a great idea.

Kerri:                                     Yeah. Because then you find out

Barbara:                              Great idea. Yeah. So then how does that impact auditory learners? Kerri, what do you think there?

Kerri:                                     The, for me, the most important thing that I have heard for with auditory learners is they, you need to have an environment that lets them convey back to you what they’ve heard. And that’s the way that I have been taught to teach is, you say something, and then you clarify that they heard you properly. When you have an auditory learner, I think it’s very important to always have an opportunity for questions. It cannot not questions to go into detail that might be answered later in the presentation. But a clarification question, because sometimes when something is explained, and you use, you might use phrases that are not familiar, but if you can reframe it, for that auditory listener, you’re giving them the opportunity to get it because maybe again, like you said earlier, somebody may be an auditory, but then they may have another aspect that’s important to them. So, some, somebody might hear something auditory, but they’ve got it, they can visualize an experience in their head when they’re having it. And if they don’t get the right words to mesh, then they’re not able to get that clarity. So I, I find, it’s always good to say, is there any questions? Or does this make sense or something along those lines, just to give people chance for feedback, so that they and they have, and it’s really important to give it so that it’s not, doesn’t seem like you’re impatient. And I know that nobody would set out, I want to believe nobody would set up just to be impatient. I just want to get through this presentation. But sometimes that’s how it comes across. So I think it’s really important that we, you know, take our time and take a deep breath, and imagine we’re talking to a little tiny person, and, and being kind. And it’s like, Do you understand what I’m saying? And this is, but you’re not you’re not being condescending at all, but you’re giving them that that safety of, you know, the opportunity to have the form to challenge what you’re saying, say, I’m not really sure what you mean, or do you mean like this or this? Right, because that can make a huge difference in how people walk out of a meeting.

Barbara:                              Yeah, for sure. And it is always the good technique to ask people to confirm back. And that invites dialogue and open conversation. So it’s, you know, a combination of all those things that really goes a long way to engagement, especially on the auditory side of things as well.

Kerri:                                     And that’s where you were mentioning to about the difference between being on zoom. And that’s again, that’s even that can that’s that that applies to visual as well as auditory, and kinesthetic. Kinesthetic, all the next one we’re going to talk about is the case. Yeah, all three of them. Auditorium versus a boardroom versus zoom.

Barbara:                              Yep.

Kerri:                                     And all three different learning styles can be there. So that’s that. And that’s a key. Oh, one more thing about auditory listeners, people who are people a lot, some people who are auditory listeners are called Why Listeners. They’re very impatient. People listen for different reasons. If you are talking to somebody who is a why listener, they want to know why they should give you their attention right away. And if you miss the boat, and you don’t give them that what’s in it for me answer, you’re going to lose them. So that’s another thing to keep in mind when you’re talking and you’re presenting or developing a presentation. You want to make sure that you’re able to identify the very beginning, why they should give you their attention in the first place. And then, I mean, besides the fact that that’s what business is like, please, give your attention. I’m asking for it. Let me tell you why. Right away.

Barbara:                              Yeah, that’s right. Yeah, yeah.

Kerri:                                     When you have a why listener that’s a key, because if they don’t get it right away, you won’t get them back.

Barbara:                              They’re gonna walk away. So you know, that you have, what’s that phrase? You have?

Kerri:                                     Oh, with the 30 seconds?

Barbara:                              30 seconds to make a good impression or something?

Kerri:                                     Yes.

Barbara:                              Yeah. Well, there it is. Right there. If you can answer their why question, especially a prospective client, you’re gonna lose them.

Kerri:                                     Sure enough.

Barbara:                              Right.

Kerri:                                     Most definitely. Yep. And that’s and then you can’t usually get them back because of the patient thing that usually turns to anger. It’s all gone. It’s a waste of my time.

Barbara:                              Mm hmm. That’s right. Yeah, it is. Yeah. You know? Yeah. And then what about kinesthetic learners? I, I remember as when I was going through college, I just, you know, I realized that, that I learned better or learn, maybe it depends on the context too of what you’re learning, that I do enjoy learning by doing as well as by reading. So I, what are your thoughts on that?

Kerri:                                     Well, I, as I said earlier, I’m, I am primarily a kinesthetic learner, I would much rather get my hands in and get them dirty. I do like to read direction. Like you said, there’s a little bit of both in everybody. The biggest thing that I learned about kinesthetic learners, I didn’t know, when I was a kid, I never knew what it was, they didn’t take pay attention to stuff like that when I was young. And I’m in my 50s, so that’s dating myself, but that’s okay. But we didn’t know. And yet my daughter when she was in school, she was identified in grade three as a kinesthetic learner. And so they knew that she needed to be up and moving so she was the one that would hand out the pencils, or she was the one that would take attendance down to the office, right. And by the time she got into grade five, they had a corner of the classroom that was all carpeted off, so she could lie on her stomach and swing your legs. So I discovered with her the different things that people need to do like the movement, and I mean, you know, just being able to, like when I was saying about the the differences with the three different forums that you mentioned earlier with the auditorium, and some places you can sit and swing your leg, some places you can’t. If you’re a kinesthetic learner, and you can’t swing your leg while you’re listening, you know, when you can’t move, or you can’t stand up and stretch when you need to, you’re going to lose that person. So you want to again, those are the things that you want to keep in mind when you’re creating the environment that you’re going to be presenting into. Have a chance every 20 minutes to stand up and do a stretch. I say, focus for more than 20 minutes at a time without changing direction, have everybody get up and move a little bit, do a little dance and be goofy. And then you’re going to be able to keep everybody’s attention.

Barbara:                              Yeah. So and you also need to actually if, like, if you’re in a board meeting or something, you do need to invite engagement. And let people relate to them their experience that we can contribute to the meeting or to the group.

Kerri:                                     Yes.

Barbara:                              And that too is involved in there as well in kinesthetic learning, to engage and I don’t know if give permission is the right phrase, but allow other people to relate their experiences to the context that you’re talking about.

Kerri:                                     Yes. And I think that I think that’s that’s an excellent point Barb, because what I have found is that until one person speaks up, nobody will.

Barbara:                              Exactly.

Kerri:                                     And if you can get if you can get one person engaged with the feedback and come across that you’re in a safe environment, you can ask questions, share your experiences, that’s going to benefit everybody, no matter how they learn, everybody’s going to benefit. But it always, I find, it always takes a little nudging to get somebody to come right up, and when I’m in a group, I’m always the first one to volunteer, because I want my answer.

Barbara:                              Doesn’t surprise me.

Kerri:                                     But what I find, though, is I’m the first one, and I always wait, I don’t just put my hand up first, like, you know, the kid we hated in high school. And then I don’t I never do that. I always wait. Because I know that I have no qualms with asking questions. But when nobody else asks, then I do and then people will start to ask if other people do, I hang back. And I wait. And then you know, as as the questions kind of peter off, then I’ll ask, but if nobody’s asking, I jumped up, and I’ll jump right in and I’ll say, I don’t understand or, and I, and I’m being honest about what I need for more information. But I also feel like I’m setting the stage to say, I’m here, and I’m ignorant. And I need to ask the question, so feel free to ask one with me and we’ll be learning together. Right? Because a lot of people are really nervous about asking questions, right? They walk away from the meeting. It’s like, I don’t know what the hell that was about.

Barbara:                              Yeah. And I do that too sometimes in a meeting, I will quite often ask a question, just for the benefit of those in the room.

Kerri:                                     Yes, I’ve done that too.

Barbara:                              Whether I know the answer, or I don’t, I’ll still ask a question. Just to you know, like you just said, Kerri, get the ball rolling and get people, you know, start to thinking about, you know, maybe speaking up a little bit. And I’ve also noticed, too, the context of a meeting is much different too if you’re in a smaller group, right, say a room of I don’t know, five people, it’s a much different dynamic than if you’re in a room of 50 people.

Kerri:                                     Oh, and even 10. 10 or 15, from 5.

Barbara:                              Much different energy there. So I think people are more much more comfortable in small groups. Anyway.

Kerri:                                     I agree. Further to what you said about asking the question, even if you know the answer for the sake of the room, I think it’s also a good, that’s a good practice for the presenters to hear, because it’s letting presenters know that maybe they could be a little more detailed in their explanations, so that they’re not ending up having to have somebody say, well, can you clarify, because that’s kind of vague.

Barbara:                              Yeah. Right.

Kerri:                                     If somebody did that to me, and I was presenting, I’d be making a note of that going, oh, I need to tweak how I say this because clearly my message is not coming through without clarification.

Barbara:                              Yeah. Right.

Kerri:                                     So you’re actually helping the presenters when you’re making those asking those questions. But more so you’re helping the people in the group. Because then they’re oh, yeah, she’s asking I can ask now.

Barbara:                              Yeah, exactly. Yeah. We’re so human eh? We’re just so human. Do you have any other perspective, Kerri, on any of those three areas of learning?

Kerri:                                     Oh, my, the one thing that I can say is when you know how somebody learns, keep it in mind always because, and again, this goes back to my daughter, and she was young. But it made such a difference for her knowing that she learned in a different way. And she advocated for herself. So it’s and it’s it’s similar to what I was saying about making giving the opportunity for people to feel safe asking questions, right. When my daughter was growing up, by the time she got to high school, she had advocated for herself. And it’s like, well, you need this. Well, you need to ask for this. Well, I don’t want to ask, do you want me to come to school? No! God forbid, mom comes to high school, right? And instantly, she started advocating, but it’s that same kind of thing for adults who aren’t accustomed to saying number one accustomed to admitting something they might see as a weakness where it is not a weakness. And they’re so they’re not accustomed to admitting it, and they’re not accustomed to seeking extra information to make it more palatable for them. Right. So I think it’s really important that yeah, that you, as long as you create a an environment that feels safe for your listeners, to have the freedom to ask questions asked by locations, given experience of their own, you know, then you’re going to want you’re going to have people walking, but I’ve really enjoyed that presentation. Because more often than not, meetings are boring. And if you host meetings with, yeah, with the engagement, all of a sudden, it’s better. So yeah, what about you? Have you had like, any, any awfulness that you had to deal with where people were not as receptive or if you were in it, and you didn’t have the you were given the opportunities to do the learning styles, and you were finding and noticing a difference in your class? Have you had any opportunities to to talk about that?

Barbara:                              Yeah, I’m still trying to figure out what you were trying to say. Because, you know, not an auditory learner.

Kerri:                                     No no if your experience of yours. Have you found that when you were able to engage the learning styles as you learn them from your group, did you have Have a better experience?

Barbara:                              Yes, of course. And it’s, it’s quite often, in my experience anyway, kind of a tough thing to nail down. You know, you’re delivering your content, I prefer small rooms, small meetings, as you’re delivering your content you, in my experience anyway, I didn’t know learning styles of the people I was working with. Right, right, you know, beforehand. And then as I started presenting material, I kind of got a sense you kind of, I guess, the way people act or what they say or they don’t say, or if they’re not engaged, they’re not even looking at you. You can kind of figure out what kind of learning style they have.

Kerri:                                     Yes.

Barbara:                              And then I learned how to adapt very quickly. And then I just customize my presentation to the people in the room. And before I know it, the energy is lifted. It’s much more engagement because I’m paying attention to each person’s needs. I know the person. Yeah, the person at the back of the room who’s not looking at me, but I know they’re listening. Yes, I know. They’re an auditory learner. Yep. And then the person who is looking impatient or pissed off or whatever, they are an auditory learner.

Kerri:                                     Yes.

Barbara:                              And then you’ve got the person who’s, you know, kind of looking anxious like, when are we going to actually learn this stuff? Like, what? I gotta do something. Of course they’re kinesthetic learner.

Kerri:                                     Yeah. Yeah.

Barbara:                              And then you’ve got the people who are, you know, you say something or you present a concept, oh, where do I find that? Where can I read? They’re a visual learner.

Kerri:                                     Yes. Or they’re always in the front yes. You know, though, it’s so good that you are aware of those things because someone less experienced than you might be offended if somebody was in the back listening and not not not they might not know that they’re listening, all they see is they’re not looking. And that could make somebody feel really…

Barbara:                              Offended.

Kerri:                                     Yes. Offended or or crestfallen if they work really hard on their presentation so that’s, that’s a really good piece to mention, I think because people will, people will realize can realize that, just because you’re not seeing the engagement doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Barbara:                              Exactly. Right. Exactly. I found that with I was giving a lecture at Ottawa U, Telfer University, about oh, five or six years ago, and it was in one of those lecture halls where the seats rise, they go to the back of the room. And the professor said, See those guys at the back of the room there, they’re staring at their laptops, they’re actually listening to you. They just don’t look like they are. So just do your thing. And I thought, oh, okay, cool. I’ll do that. Yeah, yeah.

Barbara:                              And the other thing I’ve learned too, and I’ll leave you with this thought, I read in a book called, The Way We’re Working isn’t Working by Tony Schwartz. I learned in there and it still sticks in my mind that the brain cannot do two things at the same time with 100% attention. It’s not possible. The brain is not programmed that way. So this concept we have, especially in this day and age where everything’s fast track and got to do it. This concept of multitasking, quote, unquote, is a total myth. Yeah, just we may think we’re multitasking, we’ve got all these things on the go. But the brain is not giving 100% attention to any one of them.

Kerri:                                     No, we’re just stretching our stress, stretching ourselves and stressing ourselves at the same time for no reason.

Barbara:                              That’s right. Yeah. So we made our mistakes, or we missed something or miss a deadline or a meeting or whatever. That’s could be the reason why. So very interesting. Our brain is so intelligent, it just, it’s mind boggling, no pun intended, that we’re programmed the way we are. it’s just so fascinating.

Kerri:                                     I agree.

Barbara:                              So thanks very much, Kerry, for joining me today on this fantastic conversation again.

Kerri:                                     Thank you for having me, it was fun.

Barbara:                              Yeah, yeah, it was thanks. Take care.

Kerri:                                     Okay, take care. Bye bye.

Barbara:                              In closing, I’d like to thank you so much for listening today. I hope this information was helpful, and I look forward to providing more.  I’m Barbara Best CEO of Virtual Works, Inc.

There’s a couple of action steps you can do:

• Please feel free to leave me comments or feedback on this platform.
• You can also visit us online at www.virtualworks.ca
• And you can always find us on Linked In www.linkedin.com/in/virtualworks

©Copyright 2022 Virtual Works Inc.

All rights reserved

DISCLAIMER

This material is provided for educational and informational purposes only.

No responsibility can be taken for any results or outcomes resulting from the use of this material.

The author does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or use/misuse of this information.

Email Enigma! – Podcast Transcript

by virtualworks | Jul 10, 2022 | Transcript

Email Enigma! – Podcast Transcript

Hi, I’m Barbara Best and this is Humans Working Remotely, a podcast where I’ll show you how to meet the expanding needs of your organization by utilizing alternative solutions for operational staffing. Through expert insight and meaningful conversations with business professionals, we’ll talk about common challenges and proven strategies that will provide you with more time to focus on your organization’s mission, relationship building and other high value growth activities.

Did you know you can get a jump on your day by not checking your emails first thing in the morning? It’s true. We all do it, we get into our inbox first thing and respond, respond, respond. Next thing you know it’s lunchtime, and we haven’t got a thing done. Take charge!

Here’s a few tips and advice on how to train yourself to get a handle on this and get through your daily tasks more effectively.

Today, I have my colleague, Kerri Quirt here and we’re going to have a dialogue about email.

Barbara:              Kerri, good morning. Thank you for joining me.

Kerri:                     Good morning. I’m excited about talking about this terrible time sucker!

Barbara:                Yeah. Have you been thrown down the drain by email? Because I have!

Kerri:                       Yes. And in seventeen years, I’ve learned what not to do. So, I want to talk to you and give you some pointers.

Kerri:                       Thank you. Yeah. It’s bad because I love email. It’s wonderful, because it is actually a business record.

Kerri:                       Yes.

Barbara:                As opposed to maybe talking to your clients via social media.

Kerri:                       Right.

Barbara:                It’s not as professional as email and email is a business record. So if there’s any dispute or question on who said what, you have that record.

Kerri:                       Yeah, it’s a paper trail.

Barbara:                So virtual paper trail. Yes, but that comes with some costs. And I learned very early on the first thing I remember doing is turning off all my alerts, in Outlook, the bell, the notice, the thing in your system tray. Yeah, I turned them all off. Because it’s like Pavlov’s dog. When you hear that bell, you just dive right into your computer.  “Oh, what happened next” and why your whole morning is gone. Have you experienced that?

KerrI:                     I have. And what I’ve noticed is, even if you try and ignore it, like if you set it up that, okay, I’m not going to do my email right now, and then you don’t turn off all the notifications, the notifications come up, and then you’re in this internal battle of “No, no, I said I wasn’t gonna check.” Like, What about? I want to find out? Oh, I need to hear back from so and so.

Yeah. Right. And then and you get so caught up in it so fast, “I’ll just check and see if I got that email yet”. It’s like, no, no, don’t, you can’t. Because if you do, it’s a rabbit hole that you can’t get out of. And like you say, half your day is gone. And it’s like, what did I get done today? Yeah,  I struggle with it regularly. And sometimes I have to just not even open up my email, like I have the whole program down, closed entirely, because otherwise it doesn’t work.

Barbara:              Yeah. And what you just said too Kerri, sometimes when you sort of beat yourself, you think, well, I should just check and see if that one thing came in. But you know, sometimes, and I’ve learned this of myself, sometimes that’s really an excuse for doing something you don’t want to do. You have a task you really don’t want to do so you go and check your email instead.

Kerri:                     Yeah, because it makes you feel like you’re being productive.

Barbara:              Yeah, of course. Yeah. But in reality, you or me in this case, I just don’t want to do that task. So, I’ll think of any other excuse possible to not do that task. We are so human, that way. Yes. It can really lead around.

Kerri:                     Yes, exactly

Barbara:              So, what I’ve learned over the years, is like you just said, schedule time to do the email thing, and that does not include in the morning.

Kerri:                     No.

Barbara:              It’s a hard thing to get your head around. And what I found that works for me, is that I check my emails after lunch and at the end of the day.

Kerri:                     Okay.

Barbara:              Then I bring forward to the next day, the things that I find at lunchtime, and the end of the day. So, it paces out my day for me, I do actually get to those tasks that I don’t want to do.

Kerri:                     Right.

Barbara:              And it makes me more productive and more efficient.

Kerri:                     Because you’re dictating what you’re going to do when.

Barbara:              Yes. I’m telling the email program, or whatever application you use, that I’m the boss. It’s the same thing as back in the old days when we’re used to using telephones. Everyone used to dive to the telephone when it rang.

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:               Right?

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:              In reality, the telephone is just a tool. You can leave a message and you have the power, you can empower yourself to say, “I’ll pick up that voicemail when I’m in my time slot for checking emails and voicemails”.

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:              Same thing.

Kerri:                     Exactly the same I, I had my aunt and uncle when I went to visit them once or no, my aunt and uncle that I had, I don’t have them anymore. But one of the things that is so powerful about, it’s directly related to what you just said. My Uncle George would sit beside the phone reading his paper and the phone would ring. And my auntie Colleen would be “George, are you gonna answer that phone?” And his response was, “I pay for the convenience of a phone and right now it’s not convenient to answer it.”

Barbara:              Yes. See? That’s what I think exactly.

Kerri:                     And when and when you, like you said, it’s like when you have stuff planned for lunchtime, and then at the end of the day, you are planning it you’re controlling your guests, what you’re doing. And now a question about that.

Barbara:              Yes?

Kerri:                     Have you ever used an auto-responder for your clients? To let them know that that’s what your process is?

 Barbara:             I don’t have to.

Kerri:                     Okay. Because you’ve always done it that way?

Barbara:              It’s a more broad-based statement from me. All of us here at Virtual Works, we always say, our minimum turnaround on all inquiries is within two business days, usually within one business day.

Kerri:                     Okay.

Barbara:              I personally think that’s reasonable.

Kerri:                     Oh, I do, too. The only reason I’m mentioning this, is because I have spoken to people and I’ve had the challenge too when I’m set a time to not be answering emails. And then I get somebody who’s a little bit miffed that I didn’t get back to them as quickly as they would have liked. And I’ve spoken about this with other people, and what they what I have had suggested to me, if it’s a new practice of not going in first thing in the morning, the best way to avoid anybody getting ticked off, or less ticked off, is to have an autoresponder on your phone or on your on your email that says, emails are picked up at, like for you, at noon, and end of day.

Barbara:              Yes.

Kerri:                     And we’ll get back to you within two business days, something like that, like I get when you say about with your business, it makes sense that you would have that across the board with everybody on the team. But I’m thinking for people who are new to setting this boundary for themselves. You know, that’s just a way that I have heard is really effective to kind of appease people, because everybody is so intent on that instant gratification. We live in that mentality. And when we don’t, like somebody will text you. And if you don’t get back to them right away, especially now that it says, “Oh, it’s been delivered. Oh, it’s been read”, you know, then they get mad because you’re not responding.

Barbara:              I know. I know.

Kerri:                     And it’s silly, but people really do it. Right. So I just wanted to mention that about the auto-responders. Because it does kind of take the take the edge off the shock for people who might be accustomed to getting an email back within an hour when they’re having to wait for an hour or longer because they mailed it late at night and you don’t respond.

Barbara:              Yes. Right. So yes it’s a really great idea for those who aren’t used to taking charge. And it also trains your clients to, you know, you’re telling them what to expect.

Kerri:                     Yes, teaching them how to treat you.

Barbara:              It’s a really good idea. And it also empowers you as the user to say, look, I got your email. I know what it’s about. I’m going to respond when I respond. Not based on your calendar and your priorities. Yes, it really is about taking control. But in a nice way, you know, you can be very professional about it. It’s all about boundaries.

Kerri:                     Exactly.

Barbara:              You know, sometimes it may take a conversation using the old fashioned telephone, just to have an open dialogue to say, look, this is what I expect. This is what I do. This is what I’m going to do to respond to you.

Kerri:                     Right.

Barbara:              Can we agree that this is the way that we’re both in sync and we can work together.

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:              It’s as simple as starting a conversation about it.

Kerri:                     Well, and I remember something that you said to me once about the old adage, your failure to plan does not constitute an emergency for me.

Barbara:              Yeah, it’s true.

Kerri:                     And but again, there are people who are accustomed to having everybody drop everything and run to them. When they don’t get that they need to have that, like you say, the dialogue on the phone.

Barbara:              Yes.

Kerri:                     Let them know, this is this is how it’s going to work. “Well, I want you to write back to…” well, this is how it’s gonna work. You can tell me everything you want, but this is how I work. And this is when you’ll be answered and this is how it’s going to work. As long as they know, then there shouldn’t be any problems. Right?

Barbara:              Right. Absolutely.

Kerri:                     Yeah. And if you can’t come to an agreement, then maybe the relationship has to change.

Barbara:              Yes. It’s simple. We’re all human. We’re all we all make mistakes. We all have our idiosyncrasies, and our boundaries and our, you know, all kinds of things going on, especially now with more and more remote work, we have to juggle more and more.

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:              If it comes down to a two minute phone call to state what each other’s boundaries are, go for it.

Kerri:                     That’s a pretty simple fix.

Barbara:              It’s pretty simple.  You know, just say what you think. And you agree, or you just disagree or you adjust or, you know.

Kerri:                     Yes. And if you can’t find common ground, then maybe we’re not meant to be working together.

Barbara:              Maybe, maybe.

Kerri:                     And that’s okay. Because we’re not a client for everybody. Right?

Barbara:              That’s right.

Kerri:                     And that’s okay. So what else besides ignoring what other what other methods?

Barbara:              Ignoring?

Kerri:                     Everybody is ignoring. Actually, it’s not even outwardly ignoring, because it’s not like the notifications are coming up.

Barbara:              That’s true, that’s true.

Kerri:                     It’s more of an out of sight, out of mind thing. So other than that, what other things have you developed that make, you know, managing email easier?

Barbara:              As a company owners support provider, a company owner, I segregate all my emails into different folders,

Kerri:                     Okay, with rules?

Barbara:              With rules. So that they shunt themselves into where they’re supposed to be.

Kerri:                     Right.

Barbara:              Instead of coming from all different directions into one inbox, that would drive me nuts, because I’m a very regimented person, very logical, so, I set up my rules in Outlook to shunt everything that comes in to different places where it’s supposed to be, and then I go through on my daily schedule, when I check my emails after lunch, I go through each inbox. And then I bring forward on my schedule and my calendar. What goes where? And who does what, you know, that kind of thing? Some responses, I would say probably most responses, take less than a minute.

Kerri:                     Right.

Barbara:              So, I go through quickly and if I can respond straight away, I will do so.

Kerri:                     Right.

Barbara:              The other thing that I do, and this is sort of like cheating kind of, because I do, believe it or not, sometimes I work after hours.

Kerri:                     Oh, yeah. That is so not you, but sometimes you have to.

Barbara:              Yes. I was going to say don’t we all? That sometimes we have to.

Kerri:                     We just yeah, we just don’t say that out loud.

Barbara:              It doesn’t happen all the time. But no, obviously, if you have a deadline, you have to work after hours.

Kerri:                     Exactly.

Barbara:              And what I do quite often is all do up all my emails for the next day, schedule them to send the next day at nine o’clock. That way clients don’t expect that I respond at all hours of the day and night.

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:              They know, I respond only during working hours.

Kerri:                     Right.

Barbara:              I’ve kind of cheated because I did it ahead of time, but it looks like I responded at nine o’clock, you know, but you have to do it. As a business owner, you have to do these things. You’re responsible for the welfare of your company and your professionalism and what you’re responsible for, so you do have to do that and it’s a useful tool to be able to delay send to the next day or whatever it happens to be.

Kerri:                     Yes. Now speaking of delay send, that’s something else when we were talking about doing this. I am a firm believer in delay send for the next day because it’s scheduled during business hours. I’m a firm believer of, when you are during business hours, to not have your email set to be sent immediately.

Barbara:              Absolutely.

Kerri:                     Many people do that. Because “Oh, it needs to go right away”. Well, if you leave it like that, you’re going to end up having to write a second email, when you forget to mention something.

Barbara:              That’s right.

Kerri:                     Or in the worst case scenario, when you said something that could have been said a little bit better. You can’t go back and polish it before it goes, because you’ve already sent it.

Barbara:              That’s right.

Kerri:                     Yeah, I love your idea about the different the different inboxes though, even if it’s per client or per area of work,if you’re waiting, like I mentioned earlier, you’re waiting for an email to come in. And it’s like,” oh, I gotta check. Maybe it came in”. Looking at the inbox list, as opposed to the list of all the emails.

Barbara:              It’s a lot easier to go, I’m gonna be looking from this person on this or in this topic, and it’s one box that you look and you find it and it’s done. I love that idea.

Barbara:              Yeah, it’s a real brain saver. I can tell you. A real brain saver.

Kerri:                     Well, I wonder how many people use email rules like to set them up, because that’s such a simple way of making it organized for your own needs before it even lands in front of you.

Barbara:              Yes, that’s right. Yes, but everybody’s different. Everyone processes information differently. You really have to find what works for you and there is no one correct way of doing it. Because I think the way I do, the way I process information is much different than the way you process information. So, I go through my emails, say after lunch, and again at the end of the day, I have a process that I kind of sort things through on my calendar on my schedule, I have an operations diary, and then for the day to day  technical stuff, I use my Outlook calendar. So, all of these things in interplay with each other, and it helps me segregate again, what’s operational and what’s client facing. So there again, everyone’s different, but that’s what works for me. And it’s taken me a good, I would say, at least ten years to find what really works for me.

Kerri:                     Wow!

Barbara:              And that’s because we’re human, and that things change all the time. Especially if you’re a business owner, whether you’re in person or working remotely, the goalposts are always changing, every day, all day, priorities change, people change, clients change, team members change, you know, there’s a lot to take control of.

Kerri:                     Right.

Barbara:              So, in my mind, you do have to be somewhat regimented, and taking control of all the things coming at you. Otherwise, you won’t get anything done.

Kerri:                     No, you’re right. I agree one hundred percent. It’s like the priority list that you were mentioning earlier.

Barbara:              Yes. Right.

Kerri:                    Even if it does have to be tweaked. And like you say, it will have to be because over the years and the months and whatever, people change, priorities change, clients change, everything changes. And now we have a pandemic.

Barbara:              Yes, right. There’s that too.

Kerri:                     But that’s the thing. If you have that in place, then you can polish it, polish it, polish it as you need to, to tweak it to make it work for how the changes are implemented. If you are flying by the seat of your pants, and then something lands in your lap, that’s totally out that you’re not expecting it, then you’re starting from scratch every time.

Barbara:              That’s right.

Kerri:                     And that just means you’re losing more time. And the whole purpose of managing email is not to waste time.

Barbara:              So yes. And having said that, though, if you’re thinking about switching to a new way of being in control, especially after listening to us today, if you want to switch to a new way of managing yourself and taking control, it is going to take a bit of time commitment initially, but as you refine and go through it and work through it day by day, the time it takes to implement and manage it will reduce in, you know, no time at all. Yeah. And before you know it, you’ll be doing your new system automatically, which is what you want to do in the end anyway,

Kerri:                     You just want to find your groove.

Barbara:              Yeah, that’s right.

Kerri:                     Now, I’m not on that same topic, with the fact that we have to struggle to find our groove and the fact that it’s going to take time to transition into that nice, easy process. How do we manage, how do I manage, let’s own it.

Kerri:                     How do I manage that I set myself up to have a specific time of day that I do this. And it’s going to run from say, say twelve to one, or twelve-thirty to one-thirty, because I’ve just had my lunch at twelve. And then four to five at the end of the day.

Barbara:              Okay.

Kerri:                     What happens if I don’t get through everything? And then I’m beating myself up thinking, Oh, my God, I haven’t got through all my email. And then the next day, I’m beating myself up still, because I haven’t got through my email from the day before. And my first instinct is to get on my email and get it managed from the day before.

Barbara:              Oh, my God, Kerri slow down. Oh no!

Kerri:                     But I’m serious, though.

Barbara:              I know. I know.

Kerri:                     And I know, I’m not the only one that gets in that place.

Barbara:              I know.

Kerri:                     So how do you set a time limit that’s going to be comfortable for us, me, you, other people that want to do this? How do you set a time limit that’s going to give you, you know, a proper way of managing your day, an opportunity to transition without beating yourself up and a sense of accomplishment that you’re not leaving things undone?

Barbara:              That’s a great question. First of all, don’t beat yourself up. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You are only human, you know, it’s just a human experience. I would say realistically, just stop for a second in that particular space and time on that day. Say it’s, I don’t know. Eleven-thirty.

Kerri:                     Okay.

Barbara:              And you’ve had a full morning. You haven’t checked anything. You’re hungry. You need a coffee and you know, you’re just blahh.

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:              Just stop for a second. Stop for a second. A couple of minutes. Take a breath, get up and stretch, do something. Get out of your head for a second and think about it. Think about where you are in that particular moment. First of all, congratulate yourself on everything you’ve accomplished in the morning because you haven’t been lured by emails. Right?

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:              Congratulate yourself on that first. And then when your mind is clear, you’re allowing yourself, and something I quite often do is set the timer on my phone, you know, it’s eleven-thirty, I want to spend the next half hour checking my emails. So, I set timer on my phone, get into my inboxes, go through them all. Keep an eye on the timer from time to time. And then see how you do. You’re not going to get it bang on the first time.

Kerri:                     No, that’s true.

Barbara:              You’re learning this new process. Start with half an hour, you can even schedule it. Say it’s Friday today, so say on Monday write in your calendar at eleven-thirty to twelve, you’re going to check your emails, schedule it, write it down, that’ll increase your chances of it actually happening.

Kerri:                     Okay, right.

Barbara:              So, in your mind, you’re already committed to that half hour. Monday morning comes along, it’s eleven-thirty, set the timer on your phone, get into your inboxes. Right? Go through them inbox by inbox.

Kerri:                     Right.

Barbara:              Whether it’s a functional area, or by client, or whatever it is that you’ve set up. Go through them. I would suggest you go through them briefly, just a quick scan of each email that has come in, just to see what’s urgent, what can wait, know what it is you’re looking at and then filter and sort through them all again, address the quick ones first, the ones that take like a minute, reply to all those straightaway, right? Then go to your priority ones or urgent ones. And decipher if it can be responded to in a minute, five minutes. Does it need research? Does it you know, whatever it is, schedule those. And then your next category, the routine ones, they’re just like general inquiries, or whatever it happens to be they’re non urgent. Again, determine if you can respond to them right away. Do you want to schedule time maybe at the end of the day and your next time slot to respond? You know, whatever it happens to be. And then if you do that, you know, daily, eventually, your mind will get queued in to doing that as a routine.

Kerri:                     Yes. Okay.

Barbara:              You’ll train your mind to think “hey”. And as you see that it starts to work really well for you, your mind will think, “Hey, this is great. I’m in total control”.

Kerri:                     Yes, let’s do it more.

Barbara:               Yes, do it more often.

Kerri:                     Exactly.

Barbara:              Right. And then before you know it, you’ve got it scheduled on eleven-thirty and four-thirty every day.  Of course, it may happen where your date totally slides out from under you, it happens probably more often than we would like it to happen.

Kerri:                     Right.

Barbara:              But I think if you get used to it, and you’ve trained your mind to block off those times, you will eventually make it a priority. I think you have to.

Kerri:                     Well and it sounds like it would be very natural, even with when, like you say, a day gets out from underneath you.

Barbara:              Yes.

Kerri:                     Just thank you for explaining that way. I loved how you framed it all because it sounds like even if the day gets away from you, you’re still going to have the confidence in the process because you already have the experience of it being effective.

Barbara:              Yes.

Kerri:                     And that’s powerful. That, in itself, is just knowing that because that’s when you said whoa, stop. I’m I was caught up in that, like I know, and I have to get there, right. And I know, it’s not always, but when I do, it’s that time when all of a sudden everything is just all over the place. And I’m just thinking in that, in that moment, what I was feeling how I would feel, knowing that I had a process in place that was going to be effective. When I got into it. It’s going to alleviate some of the stress of “Oh, my God, I didn’t get to it today”.

Barbara:              Yeah, it’s very empowering. Yes, very empowering. It’s like you’re giving yourself permission to take control. Really, on your terms.

Kerri:                     Right.

Barbara:              Yes, that’s really what it comes down to. And you can tie into that, you know, other people’s priorities, and so on and so forth. And that gets back to boundaries. But in the end, really, it’s you giving yourself permission to take control of a process.

Kerri:                     Right.

Barbara:              And you’re really just managing information. That’s all it is.

Kerri:                     Yes. And when we’re managing when we address it.

Barbara:              Yes.

Kerri:                     I’ll get on our terms. I love that. Okay. Thank you. Yes, that’s really powerful. Thank you very much.

Barbara:              Oh, you’re welcome. I also wanted to mention Kerri, I have to confess, I feel a rant coming on. Some emails I get, they just drive me nuts. One thing that drives me nuts more than anything, is when people dig up an email I sent them five years ago. And I was like, I’m in BCC somewhere. And they want to ask me a question. So they dig up this email, they hit Reply All. They don’t change the subject field. And they asked me a question in the body of the email. First of all, I probably won’t read it because the subject pertained to a board meeting that happened five years ago.

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:              You know, I’ve moved on since then. Yes. And, you know, I probably will see it eventually. And when I open it, it’s got nothing to do with a subject line. And then all these hundreds of people are in BCC. And they probably don’t like the sender very much.

Kerri:                     I Know, exactly. Yes.

Barbara:              And I really want to say in my rant, people, you can change the subject line of an email, you can do that, you know, it’s not fixed if you’ve sent it already. Yes. And reply and change the subject line. I feel better now.

Kerri:                     I’m so glad.

Barbara:              I know.

Kerri:                     Well, and that’s a danger with the reply all too. I’ve noticed this for even for myself, that I’ve done it. And I’ve had it done with, like showing up in my box where somebody replies to, you know, somebody else, and I end up getting it because they’re so caught up in sending that email right away.

Barbara:              Yes.

Kerri:                     Forget to look that somebody else has been CC’d.

Barbara:              Yep.

Kerry:                    Right. And so this is etiquette, you’re talking etiquette.

Barbara:              Yes, it is.

Kerry:                    Yes, so one of them is to not reply all when you can set up a default. Make a default to reply only to the sender.

Barbara:              Yes. Right.

Kerri:                     And the other one is to always change the subject line.

Barbara:              Yes, especially if that’s an email from five years ago. And the other, about the reply all. I know, we’re all fast paced, and we’ve got a lot on and we’re juggling everything. But you really just need to give it some thought.

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:              When you’re replying, think about who else needs to know about what you’re writing about? You know, it just takes a minute. And you can just delete all those people who don’t need to know. You know, it. It’s a simple thing, and changing the subject line as well. Certainly, if there’s an email going around, as we’re all talking about, say, an upcoming board meeting or something, and who’s available and what date, if it’s current, you know, then yes, the subject line probably still applies.

Kerri:                     Right?

Barbara:              And when I reply, I usually put a numeral at the end of the subject line saying, you know, upcoming board meeting and then I put it a two.

Kerri:                     Yes. So they know it’s the second round.

Barbara:              It’s the second round of what we’re talking about. And it helps people keep track of what version of that email there is, you know, that works for me.

Kerri:                     I love that you do that. That’s something that actually I had never seen before, until I started working with you. And I loved that, because it did give how far back is this? But when you’ve got the numbers to see, then it’s easy to see them in a row. And it’s like, okay, the other thing that I’m thinking to when you were talking about, if you leave the subject line there, and you’re all talking about something, I think one of the things that drives me crazy is people who put their message when they’re forwarding, replying, put their response after all the other messages instead of before. Yeah, I know. I know. And I mean, they may not realize that there’s a setting that’s that you can go into email and say where you want your reply or forward. But I want to see when I open the email, I want to see exactly what they’re talking about right now. Don’t make me scroll through ten pages. Oh, that drives me crazy.

Barbara:              I know. And when emails are that long, like pick up the phone, for God’s sake, just pick up the phone. They still do work. Yeah, they’re still our phones.

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:              Whether they’re mobile or landline phones that we can use.

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:              Exactly.

Kerri:                     And if they can’t talk, they won’t. They won’t answer. You’ll leave a message. They’ll get back to you when they can.

Barbara:              Yes, exactly. Everything about this is pretty easy, really.

Kerri:                     Any other pet peeves? Oh, I have one for sure.

Barbara:              Oh, yes, go ahead.

Kerri:                     And I’m sure it’s one that you have too.  I hate, and I don’t use that word lightly, I hate bad grammar and spelling.

Barbara:              Oh, I know. I hate it. It drives me nuts.

Kerri:                     I cannot. I mean, I’ve got I have a friend who will have me do like a proofread over a copy that she’s writing and the first thing that I notice is spelling or grammar, and it’s like, you know, and she said, and I said, I can’t help it, you know that I see it. And she said, I know and I hate it, because it’s the first thing you notice, and you miss out on the point. But that’s the whole point. If the first thing that you’re noticing in somebody’s written communication is a spelling mistake, or a grammar, that’s going to upset the person that they’re reading. Because that, to me, the first thought is what you can’t take time to check your spelling or make sure that you’re writing grammatically correct. Like that’s just bad, especially in business.

Barbara:              Yes. It’s happened to me many times, when people who are interested in working with us, send me their resume and covering letter and a brief email.

Kerri:                     Right.

Barbara:              And I’ve seen it many times where the covering email in the content and the body of the email, it’s, you know, four lines long, and it’s one sentence.

Kerri:                     Oh, wow.

Barbara:              Almost no semi colons. No. It’s like they’re writing automatically what they’re thinking, not realizing that we don’t type the way or write the way we think. So it goes on and on and on. And you know what happens? I just delete it.

Kerri:                     Yeah. Yeah, it’s like they haven’t taken the time.

Barbara:              No. And if people are like that in emails, and they want to work for us, I don’t want to work with them.

Kerri:                     No, no, I agree.

Barbara:              It’s harsh. But you know, and my thought is, if they’re going to correspond with my clients like that, no, because that’s not going to happen. That’snot professional.

Kerri:                     Well, it’s like people who communicate with text speak. Right? They read an email, and they’re writing it as if they’re texting, and I’m as guilty as the next person for using text speak when I text. But when I write an email, I do not ever do that.

Barbara:              It’s two different mediums. It’s just two completely different things.

Kerri:                     Yes, exactly.

Barbara:              It’s two ways of communicating. So yes, we really need to pay attention to that. And on those same lines, and I’ve done this many times, a little technique I do, especially when I’m mad.

Kerri:                     Yes.

Barbara:              When I respond to an email, and you know I’m not my, let’s say best self, and I get mad, and I want to write everything I’m feeling and send it. Yes. I’ve learned the hard way to give it twenty-four hours before you send that email. Especially if you’re mad. And take time to think about what you’re saying or what you want to tell this person, and you have to take all the emotion out of it. You have to, you know, so a good technique I do is I put my initial thoughts down. Let me back up. The first thing I do is I hit reply, I take that person’s email address off.

Kerri:                     Yes, that’s exactly what I do too. Take it off the email first, just in case the Send gets done by mistake.

Barbara:              Oh, my God. And that’s actually happened to me too. And it was not pretty. I take that email, the email off the reply. I hit save. So I’ve saved a draft. And then I start to write my initial thoughts about, whatever the subject is.

Kerri:                     And you get it out of your system.

Barbara:               And once I am done, save it. And I walk away. I don’t look at it again for another day.

Kerri:                     Yeah, I do the same thing.

Barbara:              I know. And oh, my God, we’re so human.

Kerri:                     You have to do it, because you have to. And if you don’t think about stuff like that, and you do get caught because sometimes it happens. You’re in the middle of writing, and all of a sudden, you know, and you’re venting. And it’s like, you know, no, I’m gonna go back and fix it later. And it’s like, all of a sudden it gets sent. And then you’re backpedaling when you have to reach out to that person again.

Barbara:              Yes, you could lose a relationship, a business relationship with anybody. And you could lose it. Just because you’re, you know, and when we’re in person, ideally, we take a moment, if we’re triggered, we take a moment to breathe. And then we, you know, or we do a checkout for ten minutes, or ten seconds, whatever, and we come back to it. That’s why you don’t want to do that without having, you know, the things in place, like when you set up, because as you’re talking about this from the beginning, I’m thinking, and you’ve got to get the email off there. And then you set it, and it’s true.

Kerri:                     Yes, so true.

Barbara:              It’s so true. I’ve been caught a couple of times on that night. I never forgot it, believe me.

Kerri:                     No. And I’m sure they didn’t either.

Barbara:              No, I haven’t talked to them since so it’s hard to tell. But, yes well, probably not.

Kerri:                     No, more than likely. These are good things. Oh, good things. Yes, I mean, it turned off I remember way back when, showing my age, when email was new. And yes, the main thing that they talked about for etiquette was not to write in caps because it was yelling.

Barbara:              Yelling, absolutely.

Kerri:                     And now there’s so much progress with technology, technology and communicating with technology. And, you know, some people are of the mind that email isn’t even for business anymore. And it’s like, no, yes, it is. It’s actually still very powerful with business. They don’t talk about the email etiquette as much now because it is so old and people assume, right, which is not good, because we know what assume does assume that everybody knows the rules.

Barbara:              Right.

Kerri:                     And I think that this conversation that we’re having is going to be really valuable for people who maybe haven’t thought of some of these things. Because all of a sudden, it’s like, oh, I never thought about that. But you don’t know unless somebody is talking about it. And you get to listen to a little conversation, like how else you supposed to know if you don’t have your own personal experience?

Barbara:              That’s right.

Kerri:                     So I think this is really valuable information.

Barbara:              And I think what you said too Kerri earlier, is that we’ve been overboard with texting. And that itself is a different language altogether. And I don’t believe it belongs in business really?

Kerri:                     No.

Barbara:              First of all, because it’s not a business record with the date and timestamp. But also, it’s not professional, because it’s a different language. Really, you know, it has its time and place of course, but it also maybe depends on the relationship you have with the person you’re corresponding with.

Kerri:                     True, true.

Barbara:              But I would say in formal business, I would say email is still the way to go for all these items we’ve talked about today.

Kerri:                     Yes, I agree.

Barbara:              Yes, for sure. So, thank you for joining me today. That was a great conversation. I really enjoyed it.

Kerri:                     Me too. Thank you for sharing your ideas. Because it’s so nice. Again, if we don’t have somebody to, if we don’t have an opportunity to listen to somebody who’s been there, done that, then we don’t have another perspective to look at things. So I’m really appreciative of the fact that you shared the different ways that I mean, it’s awesome that we have the same methods, a lot of places. Well, and that we have so many things in common to begin with, but it’s just so for me, it was really helpful to hear the different methods and the different consequences that happen if you do or don’t follow these methods, right? Because I think that’s really important, too, is it’s one thing to say, Oh, you can do this, you can do this or don’t do this, but having the why attached, right, because we’ve talked about the why and all of these things. And that’s really important to understand why we’re doing this for the best customer service experience, and for the best way of managing the operations of our businesses.

Barbara:              Yeah, absolutely.

Kerri:                     So yes, thank you for having me. It’s been marvelous.

Barbara:              Oh, it’s been wonderful to talk to you. Thank you.

Kerri:                     Thank you.

In closing, I’d like to thank you so much for listening today. I hope this information was helpful, and I look forward to providing more.  I’m Barbara Best CEO of Virtual Works, Inc.

Here’s a few action steps:

• Please feel free to leave me comments or feedback on this platform.
• If you’d like to be considered for a future podcast, please drop me a line at info @virtualworks.ca
• You can visit our website at http://www.virtualworks.ca and,
• You can always find us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/virtualworks.

©Copyright 2022 Virtual Works Inc.

All rights reserved

DISCLAIMER

This material is provided for educational and informational purposes only.

No responsibility can be taken for any results or outcomes resulting from the use of this material.

The author does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or use/misuse of this information.