Whether you’re making a pitch to a client, reaching out a prospective new hire, or simply asking a colleague a quick question, you probably have three or four different ways to contact them. The communication method you choose says a lot about you – so make sure you’re choosing the right method for your message.

There are four main methods I’m comparing: phone, email, text message, and instant messenger (IM).Of course you can also talk to someone face to face, send a fax, or carve your message into stone tablets — there are many other options, but the decisions between them are usually pretty clear. (If you’re not sending somebody a paper form or contract that doesn’t exist electronically, you should probably skip the fax. And carrying around those stone tablets isn’t good for your back.)

Here are a few quick examples – think about how you’d choose to send your message in each of these situations, and I’ll tell you my suggestions below.

1. You have several edits to suggest to a proposal a coworker asked you to review.
2. You need to ask your boss for a extension on a deadline.
3. You need to let a long-time client know you’re running late for a meeting.
4. You have a yes or no question for a co-worker on a project you’re both working on.
5. You’re trying to negotiate final pricing with a sales prospect.
6. You want to get a small team to contribute ideas for a new project.

Before I give you my answers, here are some of the differences to consider:

• Synchronicity
  Phone calls are a synchronous medium: both parties have to be communicating at the same time. Email and text messages are asynchronous – each party can respond when they’re ready to.  Instant messaging  is somewhere in the middle – it’s generally best for synchronous communication, but if someone walks away in the middle of a conversation, they can easily review it and pick it up where they left off. The tradeoffs are that while synchronous communications are much better for collaboration, negotiation, and (in most cases) efficiency, they are much more demanding: the person being contacted is being asked to stop what they are doing and respond immediately.
• Level of detail
  The amount of information you have to convey or number of questions you have to ask should also influence your decision. It’s fairly self-explanatory: if you have more than a quick question or statement, text messages or IMs aren’t the way to go.  But the amount of back-and-forth required can make the difference between when an email or phone call is the best choice.
• Formality
  The communication medium you use will change how someone perceives your message. More sensitive or nuanced messages are best delivered over the phone (or in person, if possible) where tone of voice and facial expressions can be clearly understood. Formal messages – contracts, significant disputes, employment matters – are best delivered in email, and often backed up with paper documents or face to face meetings.
• Relationship to the sender
  The more closely you work with someone, the more you’ll understand how they prefer to communicate – but in general, IMs and texts should be reserved for coworkers or long-time vendors or clients.

Another advantage of all the written forms of communication is their relative permanence: you can review chat logs, text messages, or email weeks, months, or even years later, provided they haven’t been deleted. Phone conversations are stored only in memory — as soon as you hang up, you’re depending on both parties’ recollections of the conversation.

So with these points in mind, here’s how I’d answer the situations above:

1. You have several edits to suggest to a proposal a coworker asked you to review.
   Email. Something as detail-oriented as document edits are usually best presented in email. In addition the word ‘several’ moves this out of the realm of IM or phone call conversation.
2. You need to ask your boss for a extension on a deadline.
   Well it depends on your boss, but in most cases this is best on the phone or in person. You’ll be able to read his or her reaction and adjust your message accordingly, and it’s the type of request that deserves a little more formality than an IM or a text.
3. You need to let a long-time client know you’re running late for a meeting.
   If there was ever a clear case for using a text message in business, this is it. Texting is often easier than calling or emailing while you’re on the move, and a “long-time client” should be fine with a casual medium like a text. (But remember, just because you’re texting doesn’t mean you should use “text speak” – u no wat i mean?)
4. You have a yes or no question for a co-worker on a project you’re both working on.
   This is a case where I’d use instant messaging. I know not all workplaces use it – but for the types of quick questions that fly back and forth between coworkers, it’s often the most immediate way to get an answer – without the workflow interruption of a phone call.
5. You’re trying to negotiate final pricing with a sales prospect.
   Negotiations usually demand a phone call. In some cases, you may be going back and forth via email, but when it comes to nailing down the basic outlines of a deal, a phone call is best if you can’t be there in person.
6. You want to get a small team to contribute ideas for a new project.
   Probably pretty obvious – outside of a fact to face meeting, email is the best way to get contributions from mulitple contributors. In a brainstorming situation, email has the added advantage of giving your team the chance to think over their responses for a while.

So – those are my answers. There’s not always a right or wrong answer — being flexible about how you communicate can help you be efficient and effective in your day-to-day work. What do you think? Are texts ever OK in business communications? Do you use IM in your work? Let us know in the comments below…or IM me at jeremysacco on Meebo or zippyjjz on AIM.