As a pretty detailed person, a pain point that I encounter a lot revolves around communicating with others. I’m not talking here about speaking in person. Instead, this issue arises when communicating with someone else remotely. As time goes by, it feels like more and more people either take days upon days to respond to emails or text messages, if they ever respond at all. This causes things to grind to a halt due to the lack of communication.

We all know exactly who these people are in our lives. I’m sure that you can picture someone’s face right now. I know I can!

What does it matter?

But is this even really a big deal?

When someone fails to communicate with others effectively then they are seen as unreliable and inconsistent. They’re not someone who you can count on. Due to this, you lose or lack trust in them, and trust is the foundational basis of any healthy relationship. The stakes here are HUGE!

What causes this?

If this is really as important as I am claiming, then why do many people not prioritize timely communication with others? 

I believe that there are a few different causes that lead to this issue:

-People are disorganized. An email landing softly into an inbox filled with 7,000 other messages is not likely to be seen or prioritized. The same goes with a text message that falls into a pile of one hundred others.

-People underestimate acknowledgement. Sometimes it feels like a better idea to hold back a response until there is something of value to send back, as opposed to just letting the sender know that you received the correspondence and will reply with any requested information at a later time. 

-People undervalue remote communication. If I walked up to you and asked a question to your face you would never ignore me for 6 straight days. That would be unheard of. But the same rule doesn’t seem to translate over for most people regarding text and email communication. Even though it is coming from a person, this type of communication is sometimes treated as if it’s just falling out of the sky.

There are no doubt numerous other reasons that could be listed here, but you get the gist. Being quicker to respond than the average person (anywhere from within 1-48 hours) across the course of time will help to set you apart and will enhance your ability to build trust with others. 

One tangible action:

Clean out your text and email inboxes. Archive, organize into folders, delete, and snooze so that your head is above water. Then all you have to do is maintain this and prioritize getting back to people as quickly as possible. When someone contacts you, it will be one of only a few items on your list to reply to.

Pro Tip:

Decide that you will be the fastest communicator that others encounter, then act in a way that supports this identity. Try to beat everyone else by responding first to group emails. Be short, concise, but helpful in your quick replies. You will not regret the results!