Dave Pollard has nice, clear, useful, but non-definitive guide for when to use different communication media.
| Tool or Medium | Some Unique Advantages |
| Face-to-face | Conveys body language, allows sidebar conversations, builds trust, coordinates multiple communication media best |
| Telephone | Fast iteration of a few people’s ideas and knowledge , conveys tone |
| E-mail, Letter, Memo (anyone remember memos?) | Makes the organization of complex ideas visible and easy to grasp, leaves a trail, can be saved |
| V-mail | Conveys tone, can be saved |
| IM, Chat | Immediate access, fast iteration of a few people’s ideas and knowledge |
| Weblog | Provides context of communicator’s other work, categorizable, allows comments back, can be saved |
| Newsletter, Newspaper | Brief, immediate, categorizable |
| Radio, TV, multimedia | Compelling, reach |
| Videoconference (room) | Visual, inexpensive |
| Videoconference (P-to-P) | Next best thing to being there |
| Forum, Collaboration Tool (project, team) | Egalitarian, leaves a trail |
| Wiki | Openness, multiple voices |
| Format | Unique Advantage |
| Conversation | Iterative, flexible |
| Interview | Structured |
| Presentation | Can use multiple media |
Some of these items are subject to debate:
- Implies that you’d use a weblog as a last resort if there isn’t another more appropriate medium.
- Implies that voicemail is better than email for short messages — without taking into the account that email is easier to archive.
- Implies that wiki is the tool to use if you *don’t* need fancy formatting; vs. being the tool to use if you want to focus on collaboration on content *prior to* formatting.
- Also, it doesn’t distinguish between forum discussions, which are suitable for exploring, brainstorming, and other open-ended pursuits, and weblogs, which are conducive to converging on a result.
Despite these quibbles, the article makes the right underlying assumption. There isn’t one best communications medium; each mode has its strenghts and weaknesses; different modes should be used in different situations.
I think that a lot of communication is about control. The matrix does not integrate the elements of control that are/are-not present in each mode of communication. A cell phone is used to coordinate meeting at a restaurant or mall, in effect controlling the actions of another. The immediacy is important. Email is used to control people in a different way – email offers accountability – it shows what was asked for, and when, and who knows. At the end of the day, communication is very frequently about influencing others (read control).