Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Voicemail and email offer two different ways of communicating, and I use each for different reasons.

Email is great when I don’t need the answer right away, but voicemail is better — in my opinion — for stressing the urgency of something. Both require that the recipient of the message be attuned to checking either a computer or a phone. But voicemail has the added advantage that one might actually catch the recipient as his or her desk and solve the issue involved immediately. Email rarely does that.

I think today’s preference is email. I frequently hear others say, “I’ll email him (or her) about that.” The thing is, you’ve passed the ball into the other person’s court, since you now must wait for a response. Granted, if you make a telephone call and get voicemail, you’re in the same boat. But you can stress the urgency in your tone of voice, something that doesn’t come across with email.

I’m not favoring one over the other; I simply think that each has it use. And the savvy businessperson knows when to use one or the other to best advantage.