No ?
please don't send a 5-minute voice note when a sentence would do
Imagine opening a chat and finding a 5-minute voice note with zero context about what's inside... 🤦♀️
❌ Don't do this
T.J Miller thought it was faster to just talk: it's easier to explain out loud. But a long voice note forces the other person to stop everything, find headphones, and listen in real time — with no way to skim, search, or reference it later.
Most people who do this don't mean to be inconsiderate. It's a habit: "Speaking is faster than typing for me."
But in work chat, voice notes are the opposite of async-friendly. They can't be skimmed, searched, quoted, or translated. And a 5-minute monologue often contains 30 seconds of actual information buried in filler.
The same goes for:
- Multi-minute voice notes for simple questions
- Sending a second voice note because the first one wasn't clear
- Voice notes with no text summary of what's inside
- Rambling voice notes that could be one typed sentence
- Voice notes in group channels where 20 people have to listen
If it takes more than 30 seconds, type it!
✅ Instead, try this
A typed message can be read in 10 seconds, skimmed, and referenced later — a 5-minute voice note can't do any of that.
Instead of a long voice note, try:
- Type a summary with the key points
- If it's complex, write it in a doc and share the link
- Use bullet points for multiple topics
- If you must send audio, keep it under 30 seconds and add a text summary
Text is searchable, skimmable, and async. Your teammates will get the info faster, reference it later, and never have to whisper "what did that voice note say?" in a meeting.
When done right, everyone stays informed without headphones. 🎉