Everybody uses e-mail. But does everybody use it wisely? In a recent post on my humor blog, I examined 18 types of e-mail misbehavior. No question about it–e-mail can be a blessing or a curse in business communication.

The problem I hear about most often is overuse of e-mail. While e-mail is fine for transmitting facts and summarizing thoughts, it is not the best medium for discussion, debate, and decision-making. When e-mailers express ideas in an attempt to persuade or reach consensus, they tend either to write too much, leaving important points unread, or write too little, leaving their meaning obscure. Confusion is almost inevitable. Sometimes–many times, in fact–only a real conversation will do.

Another common complaint is e-mails that are unclear or downright incomprehensible. Sometimes these faults can be chalked up to people being in too much of a rush. In fact, the “rush mentality” is often the result of another major e-mail problem–e-mail overload. When people are clearing 300 e-mails from their in-box, it’s no wonder their responses are poorly composed. Real conversations force us to slow down, think, and (in some rare cases) prepare.

Its convenience makes e-mail the default choice for business communication. Why interrupt someone with a phone call or spend time traveling to a client’s office when a quick e-mail will do? Perhaps it’s time to reverse our thinking–don’t use e-mail if a real conversation will do.