What is better a phone call than an email? There are times when you should take it offline.

It allows me to think. It allows me to use my SAT tutor’s vocabulary drilled into my brain many years ago. It also gives me a safe place to hide from uncomfortable topics, making it much easier to deal with them. Sometimes, even I, the perpetual wordsmith, need to make a phone call.

Times: A phone call is better than an email

When you want to apologize

It can be so difficult to admit that we are wrong. It can be difficult to say “I’m sorry” out loud. We have the option to type it in an email or text message quickly. It can be more significant when someone calls to apologize. If the person is honest, we can understand their remorse.

If you are afraid you will make a mistake when you apologize, you can still write it down before making the call. This can give you a better idea of what you want to say and reduce the chance of you mumbling it. It’s important to sound natural. An apology will not seem authentic if you read from a script.

If you anticipate a lot of questions

My colleague Leslie Ye recently spoke with someone to discuss a project in the HubSpot sales blog. She chose to speak with me for several reasons rather than explain the details over email. She explained that one of the reasons was because she knew that the writer would ask many questions.

It turns out she was correct. Ye explained that calls with many questions could be more difficult to handle via email because it’s not a live conversation. You can talk to someone on the phone and ask a question, then move on to another.

If you have to explain something complicated

Telephone support is still available for a reason. It’s used here to assist HubSpot customers. And for a good reason, 73% say customer support queries are getting more complicated.

As a reference point, written instructions can be very helpful. See the above. If you are trying to understand a complex series of steps or are just new to the process, it can be extremely helpful to have someone speak to you.

My colleague Adrianne Ober, a channel consultant, deals with this phenomenon daily. She says that email is great for getting to a point and staying on task but that a conversation will provide more context.

If you’ve taken too long to respond

It isn’t easy to estimate how many emails remain unread in an average person’s inbox. Over 37% of my colleagues replied that they have between 11 and 50 unread emails.

This is why emails can easily be forgotten or overlooked. It’s true. How many times have we opened an email, marked it “unread”, and then hoped to answer it later? This habit allows messages to become quickly buried in incoming emails.

Two possible solutions exist to this problem:

1. You can organize your inbox using resources such as HubSpot sales or any email management tools listed here.
2. Call the sender if you have missed something important.

If you need to discuss something personal

1. Simply put, life happens. Sometimes it’s not so amazing. Sometimes, we have to step back from some responsibilities like work temporarily.
2. We’ve stressed that using the spoken word instead of email can make your counterpart feel more important and help you fully understand what you’re talking about. Don’t send an email if you have to raise something personal like a family issue or medical concern. Instead, have a conversation.

When it’s really important

1. These days, the definition of “urgent” has changed a lot. Our culture is perfectionist. Adding a deadline makes it 24% easier to complete a task. Sometimes, however, it’s impossible to meet those deadlines ourselves. It is necessary to interview experts or get the approval of an official party for any quote.
2. Remember that many of us have double-digit unread email counts. Letting an urgent request slip by is easy, even if labelled “urgent”. It might not be an urgent request, but it may not be important to the person I am trying to reach.
3. Yes, most Americans would rather write it than type it,” says Corilyn Shropshire from Chicago Tribune. Not only does it prevent an email from being lost, but it also adds to the email avalanche of recipients. It also helps instil empathy and emphasize urgency.

Call now

1. We are not trying to discredit email. We love email. There are times when it is an indispensable resource for marketers and a perfectly acceptable communication method.
2. We also like to keep things humane, so feel free to call our “sentimental” — we love to have a good laugh. These are six situations where it’s a good idea and can make things easier.