You know what's ruder than someone who stabs your eye with sweaty unshorn armpit hairs?

Someone who makes you wait while they finish an email, online chat or phone call.

Well, maybe not. Blindness by Armpit is pretty damn rude. But it's still pretty bad.

That's why I have a Chain of Communication. Yessir. A Chain of Communication.

What's my CoC, you ask? Well, my CoC dictates who I should talk to, depending on the priority of the Communication Medium I'm using.

The Communication Mediums I'm referring to are Face to Face, On the Phone, Instant Messaging, and Email. The priority is determined by the intimacy of its interaction. They are, in order of priority:

  1. Face to Face - I see the person and hear their voice in real time
  2. On the Phone - I hear their voice in real time
  3. Instant Messaging - I see their words in real time
  4. Email - I see their words in suspended time

If I'm IM'ing a friend at work and a coworker comes into my cube, I'll turn my attention to my coworker because Face to Face is of a higher priority than Instant Messaging.

Now if I'm talking to a coworker and a friend IM's me, I'll keep talking to the coworker.

Sounds like a pretty obvious thing to do, huh? Unfortunately, there's always someone on IM who goes, "Mike? Mike? Where are you? How come you're not writing back? Hello? Heeeeeello?"

You know you've done it before. Admit it.

I don't always have time to write a quick, "Hold on a second," though I'll certainly try. But if you're one of those people and I suddenly stop writing, trust me, I have a good reason for it. It's my CoC.

This also applies to cell phones. If I'm talking to someone Face to Face, I'll let my voice mail take the call. After all, that's what voice mail is for, yea?

As for Email, well, anything takes precedence over that. I can do Email anytime. That's one of the beautiful things about Email. You can pick up a conversation you started weeks ago just as easily as if you started it ten seconds ago.

So that's my CoC. I hope you like my CoC as much as I do. And the next time I get a phone call while I'm talking to someone Face to Face with their armpit hair in my eye, I'll punch him out and then send IMs and Emails to security so they can strap him down and wash those damn pits out.

. . .

Do you have a Chain of Communication?