For discussing the details of your project, email — or a collaborative project management tool— is much better, for many reasons:
• The information is saved online and serves as a valuable record of our discussion.
• Email messages can be searched and referenced at any time in the future, so we do not have to rely upon our memories of phone conversations.
• Any messages can be resent if necessary.
• Both parties can take all the time and space they want, to be exact in describing questions and answers. When you express what you want in your own words in an email message, it reduces the potential for misunderstandings.
• Project requests conveyed in a phone conversation can be (unintentionally) vague, which causes frustration and wastes valuable time. In contrast, email messages encourage us to be more specific.
• Everyone has the information they need to do their tasks, which saves time and reduces the chances of miscommunication. • Files and website addresses can be easily sent via email.
• Email allows us to send and receive messages whenever we want, day or night. It is not intrusive, nor does it interrupt what we are doing, as does a phone call. We can receive and send information at our convenience, not dictated by a ringing telephone.
• Because I spend my productive time at my computer, it is easier to read and respond to an email as soon as it is received.
• I’m more productive with no phone, as it allows me to concentrate on work, since writing code requires uninterrupted focusing.
• Contacting me via email is just as fast and reliable as would use a phone, because I’m at my computer for most of the day.
• Any project instructions will need to be provided in writing anyway — either as a project specifications document or in an email message.