TL:DR not all units of time are equal.
I posted about the horrors of someone asking if they can ask you something, and trying to call before defining why.
Some people on the Facebooks objected. “But sometimes a call is faster!”, and, “Is this just about status, forcing people to email you?”
I don’t really understand the status objection. Scarcity can’t be avoided, so rationing must occur. If a stranger comes to me and wants input, I’ve got to give something up to provide it. I can get to what they want more efficiently if it starts with email.
Notice I said more efficiently, not necessarily faster. This reveals the flaw in the objection that calls can be faster. Efficiency and speed are not the same thing, because not all minutes are equal.
Even if something could be handled in 2 minutes on the phone, 10 minutes of emailing may still be more efficient.
Phone requires a double coincidence of availability. Not only do both parties need to be around at the same time, they both need to have the cognitive capacity to handle the call. If you email me a question about sales leads, I can scan it and respond immediately or wait until I’m in a better frame of mind to provide the best answer. If I’m in the middle of crunching numbers, flipping the brain switch to a totally different kind of thinking is costly. It will take me a lot more time and energy to switch back and finish the task. Writing, planning, budgeting, and other tasks all take very different kinds of thinking. A phone call forces you to switch modes on someone else’s time, whereas email lets you preview then batch your tasks with those of similar type.
If the conversation begins with an email that lays out exactly what’s wanted, a call may be required, but now it can be scheduled and planned for to optimize results and minimize cognitive cost. A cold call with no context is the worst. I have no idea which frame of mind to bring, and if you ask me spur of the moment while I’m distracted by a stressful interview coming up, you’ll get a lower quality version of me.
The risk factor of phone-first is very high too. Even if the call is short, taking a call with someone you don’t know for something ill-defined is a huge unknown. They might be a crazy. You might be walking into a call from which you can’t wait to escape. Or it could be a delight and you’d wish you had more time.
Email first. Ask your question up front and directly. If it requires a call, schedule one.