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more than enough time to take in each word the manager delivers. And that’s the
problem. The average person in the audience can hear 400–500 words a
[2]
minute. The audience has more than enough time to hear. As a result, they will each
be processing many thoughts of their own, on totally different subjects, while the

manager is speaking. As this example demonstrates, oral communication is an
inherently flawed medium for conveying specific facts. Listeners’ minds wander! It’s
nothing personal—in fact, it’s totally physical. In business, once we understand this
fact, we can make more intelligent communication choices based on the kind of
information we want to convey.
The key to effective communication is to match the communication channel
[3]
with the goal of the communication. For example, written media may be a better
choice when the Sender wants a record of the content, has less urgency for a
response, is physically separated from the Receiver, doesn’t require a lot of feedback
from the Receiver, or the Message is complicated and may take some time to
understand. Oral communication, however, makes more sense when the Sender is
conveying a sensitive or emotional Message, needs feedback immediately, and does
not need a permanent record of the conversation. Use the guide provided for deciding
when to use written versus verbal communication.
Figure 12.16 Guide for When to Use Written Versus Verbal Communication

Business Use of E-Mail
The growth of e-mail has been spectacular, but it has also created challenges in
managing information and an ever-increasing speed of doing business. Over 100
million adults in the United States use e-mail regularly (at least once a
[4]
day). Internet users around the world send an estimated 60 billion e-mails every
[5]
day, and many of those are spam or scam attempts. That makes e-mail the second
most popular medium of communication worldwide, second only to voice. A 2005
study estimated that less than 1% of all written human communications even reached

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