Question: In your experience, when would you choose to communicate in person versus by email, and why?

Alternative Question Phrasing:

When have you chosen to communicate a particular message in person as opposed to via email even though the email channel would have been a lot faster?
How do you know when to communicate by email, or by phone, or face-to-face?

Follow-up questions:

What criteria do you use to determine what message is communicated in either way?
When would you use face-to-face over email?
How about phone calls versus emails?

Question Details:

Question Type:

Skills:

Basic – Active Listening,Basic – Critical Thinking,Basic – Reading Comprehension,Basic – Speaking,Basic – Writing,Management of Time,Social – Coordination (Adjusting one’s own actions in relation to others)

Abilities:

Cognitive – Oral Comprehension,Cognitive – Oral Expression,Cognitive – Written Comprehension,Cognitive – Written Expression

Other Factors:

Personality-Organization Fit

Work Activity (Task):

Interacting with Others – Communicating with Persons Outside Organization,Interacting with Others – Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates,Interacting with Others – Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others (Informing)

Work Context (Person-Job/Team/Org Fit):

Interpersonal Relationships – Electronic Mail,Interpersonal Relationships – Face-to-Face Discussions,Interpersonal Relationships – Letters and Memos,Interpersonal Relationships – Online Text Chat,Interpersonal Relationships – Telephone,Interpersonal Relationships – Video Conferencing

Question Frequency

Question Difficulty

What to look for in an answer:

You are looking for sound judgment in communication choices. These are derived from two sources, good written and oral expression skills and also good time management skills to figure out which communication channel to use with one’s given workload and time constraints.

Red Flags to Watch For:

If the interviewee is unable to discern when to communicate in a certain way depending on the weight of the message to be passed.

Sample Answer:

N/A

Question Source: https://www.zippia.com/employer/behavioural-interview-questions/