| A | B |
|---|
| Channel | Method of communicating |
| Face-to-face conversation | When you want to be persuasive, deliver bad news, or share a personal message. |
| Telephone call | When you need to deliver or gather information quickly, when nonverbal cues are unimportant, and when you cannot meet in person. |
| Voice mail message | When you wish to leave important or routine information that the receiver can respond to when convenient. |
| Fax | When your message must cross time zones or international boundaries, when a written record is significant, or when speed is important. |
| E-mail | When you need feedback but not immediately. Insecurity makes it problematic for personal, emotional, or private messages. Effective for communicating with a large, dispersed audience. |
| Face-to-face group meeting | When group decisions and consensus are important. Inefficient for merely distributing information. |
| Video or teleconference | When group consensus and interaction are important but members are geographically dispersed. |
| Memo | When you want a written record to explain policies clearly, discuss procedures, or collect information within an organization. |
| Letter | When you need a written record of correspondence with customers, the government, suppliers, or others outside an organization. |
| Report or proposal | When you are delivering considerable data internally or externally. |
| Texting on cell/smart phone | When you need to informally contact someone speedily |
