No, I Don't Want to Hop on a Call

When you're asked a question, you might want to talk things out. Here's why that can hurt your team—and hurt you too.

- by WES KAO

Your colleague asks you a reasonable question.

You could take five minutes to write a cogent reply. You have everything you need to reply well. Multiple teammates would benefit from reading your reply. But instead, you say, “Let’s hop on a call.”

When you say this, sometimes what you really mean is: “I don’t want to do the work of clarifying my own thinking. And I believe it'll be easier to think out loud and answer in a live conversation.”

In turn, here’s what your colleagues or team members may think—even if they won't say it to your face: If you don’t want to invest a few minutes to write a reply to a reasonable question, why should I listen (with no 1.5x button) as you meander in real time? GTFO.

At this point, you might be thinking: Wait, are you saying I should never do calls?

Not at all. There are plenty of good reasons to hop on a call—like to brainstorm, discuss ideas, collaborate, gather information, convey a message where your tone of voice matters, or get your recipients' reaction in real time. And if the topic might lead to dozens of back-and-forth messages and confusion in writing, of course you should hop on a quick call instead.

The problem isn’t calls. The problem is defaulting to calls. Leaders often assume that “just hopping on a call” is the fastest solution, when it often isn’t.

Here is a better way.

Two ways to reply

Someone asks you a question. You could do one of two things:

OPTION A/

• You take 10 minutes to draft a useful reply.

• Your audience takes a few minutes to read; one person asks a followup question, but everyone is otherwise satisfied.

• You move forward.

This takes 20 minutes total. It might feel like more work upfront, but the investment pays off.

OPTION B/