“Hey, I have a client from an educational institution who’s interested in a masterclass. What’s our latest technical material?” That was the gist of the first message I received from a new colleague. “Whoa whoa whoa, slow your roll there, cowboy!” I thought.
I asked some follow-up questions, then shared what we did and didn’t have. At one point, I almost threw in, “I don’t think this is a priority right now, to be honest.” But I held back. Instead, I asked if his event was part of a bigger play. He, in turn, asked to speak for 15 minutes.
We got on a call, and within two minutes, my view of this new guy had changed completely. “Ha, what a nice dude!” He spoke a good deal of German, and his English was also accent-free. He had good humor and was full of optimism. Excited to get stuff done.
In 15 minutes of virtual face to face, we established so much more context. By the end, I had ten times the understanding of what he needed when and why, and why his whole initiative mattered to begin with. Plus, I’d actually made a new colleague—because simply listing someone on an org chart doesn’t quite get the job done.
There is one upside to chat-based communication: You can rescind your messages before you send them. I almost spoke too soon. I’m glad I didn’t. Some lines are best deleted, not sent. Try to wait and see. Chances are, it’s always a little too early to judge.
