At Work, Your Voice Is Underrated. So Call Me, Maybe.
There’s a better way to stay connected that simply requires reacquainting ourselves with a tried-and-true technology—the telephone.
At Work, Your Voice Is Underrated. So Call Me, Maybe.
We live in a world dominated by text-only communication—to our own detriment, says Chicago Booth’s Nicholas Epley, author of Mindwise: How We Understand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want (2014). The intonation, pace, and volume of a voice can give listeners a peek inside our minds and offer intention and meaning that evaporate in an email or tweet.
The vast majority of us believe we’ll come off as smarter in writing, but Epley has shown time and again that spoken messages are viewed as more thoughtful, intelligent, and rational. What comes through in a voice humanizes a person, enriches connections to others, and can improve a recruiter’s impression of a job candidate. It may feel old-fashioned, but there’s value in picking up the phone.
But communication is complex, and what we hear other people saying is shaped by our own biases, observes Chicago Booth’s Ayelet Fishbach. That requires awareness of whom we’re communicating with, and trying to understand their perspectives. In general, online or phone communication cannot create the same sense of human connection as in-person meetings, Fishbach says.
A further complication is that people are adept at avoiding information they don’t want to know about, such as the calories in an indulgent menu item, according to research by Chicago Booth’s Jane L. Risen.
In this excerpt from the Chicago Booth Review's The Big Question video series, Ayelet Fishbach discusses potential biases in communication and how we might hear what we want to hear when we listen to other people.
Ayelet Fishbach: I love reading books. I really love reading books. And I think being able to focus on just one medium, and not being overwhelmed by the images and sounds, just having this is often what creates art. So let’s keep this in mind. Yes, there is less information, but sometimes less is more. These situations occur.
I want to move to something different, which is what you’re referring so far to, is that we are losing information. So yes, there is noise. There is loss of information. But there is another problem that might be not less and even more serious, which are biases in communication. We might also want to keep in mind that when I listen to Nick, I might hear what I want to hear.
Discover these stories and much more at Chicago Booth Review.
There’s a better way to stay connected that simply requires reacquainting ourselves with a tried-and-true technology—the telephone.
At Work, Your Voice Is Underrated. So Call Me, Maybe.People can avoid unpleasant information they feel they should care about by using other information as cover.
Why People Are Good at Avoiding Unpleasant InformationA COVID-19 Q&A with the Jeffrey Breakenridge Keller Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing.
Ayelet Fishbach: What’s the Mental Toll of Life During a Pandemic?A video series on the irreplaceable effects of spoken interaction.
Your Voice May Be More Valuable Than You ThinkThrough their data-driven insights, our researchers are tackling some of the world's biggest global issues. Explore more research from Booth.
Booth researchers are exploring what should drive corporate decisions in the twenty-first century.
Should Companies Focus on Profits?Booth researchers are investigating how cultural norms and expectations affect women’s progress.
Why Is the Glass Ceiling So Tough to Crack?Booth researchers are exploring how discrimination gets embedded in algorithms—and how to address that.
Can Artificial Intelligence be Biased?The Chicago Approach to business education—Booth’s educational philosophy—will teach you how to turn any business challenge, no matter how small or large, into an opportunity. Learn how our transformative curriculum helps our students to ask better questions and discover better answers. No matter which MBA program you pursue—Full-Time, Part-Time, or Executive—you get the same transformative academic experience, the same world-class faculty, the same influential network, the same dynamic community.
Find out how our educational approach will prepare you to think for yourself, challenge the status quo, and ground discoveries in data.
Discover Academic Life at BoothOur MBA curriculum gives you the skills to transcend trends and solve any business problem. Here’s how.
Master the Fundamentals of BusinessThe Full-Time MBA Program provides you with freedom: academic freedom, freedom to take risks, and freedom to define your impact in the world.
Full-Time MBA ProgramOur top-ranked Evening MBA and Weekend MBA Programs accommodate the schedules and lifestyles of working, goal-oriented professionals.
Part-Time MBA ProgramsTo gain a global perspective, you need an MBA from a global school. Earn an MBA from Booth in Chicago, London, or Hong Kong without interrupting your career.
Executive MBA ProgramRecruit the world’s top MBA students, support academic research, sponsor an event, and more. Our corporate partners have many opportunities to engage with Booth.
Recruit Chicago Booth TalentChoose from nearly 50 open-enrollment programs worldwide, or create a custom program tailored to meet your organization’s unique challenges.
Executive EducationPositioned at the forefront of the rapidly developing field of behavioral science, CDR is devoted to building a richer understanding of human behavior and experience.
Roman Family Center for Decision ResearchThe influence and impact of Chicago Booth faculty, students, and alumni extends throughout North America.
Booth in North AmericaBooth brings our MBA degree and Executive Education offerings and our own renowned faculty members to our new campus in London, the financial heart of Europe.
Learn More about Booth in EuropeBooth's Hong Kong campus brings our MBA degree and Executive Education offerings and our own renowned faculty members to this financial center of the Asia-Pacific region.
Building Connections in AsiaThe Executive MBA Program is registered under the Hong Kong Education Bureau. Registration No.: 262427. It is a matter of discretion for individual employers to recognise any qualification to which this course may lead.
Professor Compiani shares insights from his research on cryptocurrency demand, investors’ beliefs, and consumer behavior.
Crypto and Consumer Choice: Q&A with Giovanni CompianiCollaboration aims to build a database to catalyze groundbreaking research on this young but rapidly expanding field.
Booth Partners with Wharton, HBS on Impact Investing DataEvening MBA student Robert Cooper, AB ’12, reflected on how the Booth experience translates to the world of Zoom.
Learning in a Virtual Classroom