Electronic Communications in Business Electronic communications have made great strides. It all started in 1867 with the invention of the typewriter, which eliminated the need for handwritten letters and business documents. Then the invention of the telephone in 1876 reduced the need for face-to-face meetings. Today we have many types of new technologies that allow us to do our business faster and more efficiently than ever before. These technologies include fax, email, teleconferencing/video conferencing, and voice messaging. Each of these forms of electronic communication has advantages and disadvantages and requires the use of appropriate workplace etiquette. Facsimile Facsimile transmissions, more often called faxes, are an important form of electronic communication in business although they are used less frequently than telephones and e-mail. Fax capabilities have many advantages. The most important advantage is the wide availability. Sending a fax is inexpensive and generally costs no more than the price of a phone call. Sending information via fax saves time and money. A fax can be used to send almost anything. With a fax it is easy to send drawings, diagrams, graphs, words and images that would take much longer to explain over the phone. Disadvantages of faxing include the inability to automatically send two-sided or two-sided documents. Another problem is that a low-quality or dark original may not transmit well. Confidentiality is also an issue when the fax machine is located in a shared office area (Ford & deMontravel 2001). It is important to be careful when deciding which documents are appropriate to send via a business fax. If a personal document... in the center of the paper... and the information at the bottom (Ford & deMontravel 2001). When you receive voice messages, always respond as soon as possible. It is best to avoid leaving upsetting messages on an answering machine or answering machine unless necessary (Ford & deMontravel 2001). Do not leave long-distance telephone numbers on the machine and instead inform the recipient that another attempt will be made to contact them (Ford & deMontravel 2001). Fax, e-mail, teleconferences and video conferences, and voice messages are all forms of electronic communications that are essential communications. It would be impossible to run a competitive business without such means of communication in today's fast-paced, global and technologically advanced business environment. It takes training to properly use these impersonal ways of communication to build lasting relationships that are the key to success in any business field.