Poll: Best way to chat with the boss is face-to-face

Despite the business world becoming increasingly technology-dependent, it seems that face-to-face contact is still the preferred way of communicating at work. In the latest Silicon.com poll, 58 percent of respondents said face-to-face communication is the most common method they use to interact with the boss. But despite the recent fuss surrounding instant messaging, or IM, only 7 percent of respondents said this is their most common way of communicating with the boss.

Gartner has predicted that IM will be the de facto method of business communication by the end of 2011. IM etiquette lessons are even available. But if the Silicon.com poll is anything to go by, few people need such lessons just yet. E-mail was the No. 2 ranked mode of workplace communication, with 23 percent of respondents saying they use this method most often. In third place is the relatively old-school use of the telephone, which got 11 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, video conferencing--much touted for its travel prevention credentials--garnered just 2 percent of the vote.

Tim Ferguson of Silicon.com reported from London.