Of the many marvels of the computer age, few have had as much impact on our personal and professional lives in so short a time as e-mail. It’s so quick, simple and straightforward. You put down your thoughts, edit them for content, make sure they say just want you want, then click! Somewhere in the world, someone has them in an instant.

Of course, we’ve become so accustomed to depending on e-mail that we not only use it to communicate with colleagues and friends across the globe, but also those who are within “indoor voice” distance. Whether we’re communicating about the yearly budget plans or something as simple as today’s lunch plans, we continually tap-tap-tap all day long. What could be more efficient?

There is a price for this efficiency, however. Much of the message in normal conversation is contained – not in the words themselves – but in the tone of voice, the pace at which we speak, the way some words are emphasized over another. A comment that sounds funny in your head – where you can hear the delivery – may look rude or insulting on a computer screen. (True, some people don’t sound any funnier when heard “live,” but they generally find careers as tax attorneys.)

What’s being lost in the interest of this efficient communication is the opportunity to build a relationship. In a business e-mail, there’s usually no banter, no small talk, no asking after the family. Just direct communication about the subject at hand. When you’re finished reading it, you don’t really know any more about the person who sent it than you did before.

That’s why beginning this January, Tech Image Ltd. decided to recommit its resources to get away from e-mail and start using an older technology that used to be the medium of choice for business communications: the telephone.

As a PR agency, our business is as much (or more) about building relationships with clients and the media as it is about schlepping press releases. Yet we started to realize that the more we depended on technology, the more we were doing the latter instead of the former.

On the client side, we were getting the work done and getting their messages out. But we weren’t getting as many of the nuances from them as we used to. And if Willy Loman asked us if we were well-liked by our clients, we wouldn’t really know the answer.

What we’re finding is that by using the telephone more often instead of e-mail, we’re increasing our chances of placing our stories for a reason everyone can relate to: editors and reporters are finding it increasingly difficult to pick out the gems (our stories) from the glut of spam and irrelevant pitches they’re getting from everyone else. Many receive 400 or more e-mails a day – too much to give much more than a cursory glance to any one e-mail at first. When we call, we find they haven’t seen the e-mail, but they do wind up being interested in the story.

The other thing that’s happening is we’re discovering opportunities that aren’t published anywhere – and that may never be. These opportunities are coming up in the natural course of conversation, and when we can deliver on them in a pinch we’ve done that much more to solidify the relationship.

Clients seem to like it too. We’re learning more about what makes them tick, which in turn helps us connect the dots between their marketing message and what the media wants to hear. They also appreciate the personalized service. After all, clients usually sign on with an agency only after the agency passes a “chemistry test.” It’s difficult to maintain that chemistry when all your communication is through impersonal e-mail. Fire can’t exist in a vacuum.

Here’s the challenge, though. It’s definitely a lot easier to send an e-mail than to pick up the phone. That’s particularly true when you’re calling strangers, whether they’re members of the media or sales prospects. It can be nerve-wracking for most people, akin to public speaking. There’s the fear of rejection, the fear of sounding foolish, the fear of saying the wrong thing or forgetting to separate swallowing from breathing just as the person on the other end answers the phone.

Our experience, though, is that most people are pretty friendly on the phone (or at the very least polite). And if you’re bringing something of value to them, whether it’s a story idea or a new, well-targeted business opportunity, they will be happy you went the extra step to call.

Stop hiding behind your e-mail server. Reach out and really touch someone today by picking up the phone. Not only will it help you build stronger relationships. It will help you build a better business.