I’m notoriously inept at managing my voice mail. The reasons are multiple:

• Habitual: I forget to check it.
• Practical: When I do think about my voice mail, I’m usually in a metro, train, plane, or on my bike, which makes checking and responding to it difficult.
• Philosophical: I’m often traveling outside of France and refuse to be gouged by operator roaming charges.

So what’s the best me to have a dialogue with me? Email.

Henry Kissinger once remarked on how each of the U.S. presidents he advised had a single preferred method for receiving important information (Nixon supposedly enjoyed reviewing voluminous dossiers, Ford preferred a verbal exchange, Carter apparently liked bullet point lists).

Well, if one sole medium was sufficient for them, it’s certainly more than enough for me. And for me that medium is email.

I like to have conversations over email. It enables me to respond in a somewhat thoughtful manner during the in-between time that might otherwise be wasted (my record is a recent 44 somewhat considered emails sent during a recent Thalys return from Rotterdam). I sometimes even attempt to start a negotiation over email.

So until Google Voice becomes widespread in Europe, I submit that you will find me most responsive if you send me an email (and if talking is easier for you than typing, then I invite you to call my U.S. Google Voice number (but make sure you indicate your email address so I can respond !)