What does... "voice messages" actually mean?
In his column «What Does It Actually Mean…?», Benno Maggi explains terms from the fields of marketing and communication. This time, he reflects on the challenges associated with using voice messages as a means of communication in everyday work life.
After all, we gave up insisting on proper briefings a long time ago. But this development is now taking on new dimensions in the form of voice messaging. Creeping along, but as sure as the amen elsewhere, it is now making its way into the business world as a valid means of communication. The problem is the following: According to the dictionary, a message is a "communication that conveys knowledge of the latest facts to someone regarding someone or something [of personal importance to them]." Provided this is done in writing, it is clear so far. With a voice message, however, it gets complicated...
Without point and comma
First, not all people are able to be brief. To get their point across. Especially not when they are talking. And who is particularly bad at that? We Swiss. For all of you who are new to the country: You can safely skip the first four minutes, the essentials come after that. "What I wanted to say, and perhaps it would be good if we talked about it briefly, is - this may sound a bit demanding, sorry, I don't want to put you under pressure, but it would be good if we could check it briefly because of the deadline for the new layout, what do you think, until when can I expect it, and that's in any case easy, just that I'm informed, then I know what's going on and then I can read or how do you want to do it, you can also tell me if you have time or if you have a question...?". Translated, this would be: "When will the layout come?" The phenomenon is to be observed naturally also in written messages, but there one does not have to also still thereby LISTEN!
Second, voice messages are difficult to manage. You're sitting on a crowded bus, driving a car, or eating a sandwich, and you briefly listen to the voice messages - but you can't take notes or remember what they're actually about, because see above. And then you ask yourself whether this is now this progress. Written correspondence, which became inflationary with the introduction of e-mail and later text messages and chats, has many more advantages: You can retrieve it, organize it, mark it, and then delete it in a satisfying way... Voice messages, on the other hand, are simply too fleeting and confusing to be considered authoritative in any way. So please: Talk is silver, writing is gold. Thank you.
