QuoteProject
The worst thing about e-mail is that you can’t interrupt the other person. You have to read the whole thing and then e-mail them back, pointing out all their mistakes and faulty assumptions. It’s frustrating and it’s time-consuming. God bless phone calls.
George Carlin
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

E-mail communication can lead to misunderstandings and prolonged discussions, while phone calls offer a more direct and efficient interaction.

George Carlin humorously critiques the limitations of email as a communication tool, suggesting that it can be tedious and frustrating due to the lack of real-time interaction. Unlike phone calls, where misunderstandings can be quickly addressed, emails require a back-and-forth exchange that can delay resolution and exacerbate confusion, highlighting the advantages of more immediate forms of communication.

Themes

EmailCommunicationPhone CallsFrustrationEfficiency

In practice

Example use cases

In a presentation about workplace communication, this quote can emphasize the need for direct interaction.

More from George Carlin

Life is a near-death experience.
George CarlinRead
Here’s a bumper sticker I’d like to see: “We are the proud parents of a child who’s self-esteem is sufficient that he doesn’t need us promoting his minor scholastic achievements on the back of our car."
George CarlinRead
If you've got a cat and a leg, you've got a happy cat. If you've got a cat and two legs, you've got a party.
George CarlinRead
This is a lttle prayer dedicated to the separation of church and state. I guess if they are going to force those kids to pray in schools they might as well have a nice prayer like this: Our Father who art in heaven, and to the republic for which it stands, thy kingdom come, one nation indivisible as in heaven, give us this day as we forgive those who so proudly we hail. Crown thy good into temptation but deliver us from the twilight's last gleaming. Amen and Awomen.
George CarlinRead
Some people try to get out of jury duty by lying. You don't have to lie. Tell the judge the truth. Tell him you'd make a terrific juror because you can spot guilty people.
George CarlinRead
Intelligence tests are biased toward the literate.
George CarlinRead

Similar quotes

The first rule of my speaking is: listen!
Larry KingRead
It is not so much the content of what one says as the way in which one says it. However important the thing you say, what's the good of it if not heard or, being heard, not felt?
Sylvia Ashton-WarnerRead
Communication is an offering. When you tell someone your truth, you must release your expectation of what the other person should do with it. They may thank you profusely, love you forever, argue with you, or ignore you. It doesn't matter. Of course we hope the gift will be received with appreciation and thanks. But if it isn't we must not dictate. We've done our part, and we must trust the universe to do the rest.
Alan CohenRead
The eagerness of a listener quickens the tongue of a narrator.
Charlotte BronteRead
In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.
Nhat HanhRead
I learned to write because I am one of those people who somehow cannot manage the common communications of smiles and gestures, but must use words to get across things that other people would never need to say.
Bill JamesRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.