Generational communication: how each generation likes to talk

Alastair Greener FPSA Generational communication expert, author and President of the PSA UK and Ireland 2026 Published 5 September 2026 · 12 min read

Generational communication is how people of different ages prefer to send, receive and read messages, and how to bridge the gaps. In our 2024 UK survey of 4,067 people, 62% of the Silent Generation like talking on the phone and do it a lot, against 32% of Gen Z, while 85% of Gen Z leave voice notes and only 12% would leave a voicemail. This guide sets out the data by generation and how to communicate across it.

Ask a room of people how they would rather be contacted and most of the answers will track with age, the predictable result of six generations growing up with six different sets of tools. This guide uses our Communication Habits and Preferences 2024 survey of 4,067 UK people aged 8 to over 78 to show how each generation likes to communicate, where the gaps are, and how to close them.

62%of the Silent Generation like talking on the phone and do it a lot, against 32% of Gen ZCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

53%of Gen Z would send a message rather than leave a voicemail if a call went unansweredCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

85%of Gen Z leave voice notes, compared with 45% of Baby BoomersCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

48%of people aged 16 and over find it easier to connect with people closer to their own ageCommunication Habits and Preferences 2024

What is generational communication?

Generational communication is the study and practice of how people from different generations prefer to send, receive and interpret messages, and how to bridge the gaps between those preferences. It covers channel (phone, message, email, face to face), style (tone, formality, punctuation, emoji) and expectations about speed, feedback and etiquette.

It matters because the gaps are real, and because they are misread as character. A Baby Boomer who leaves a voicemail is not old-fashioned and a Gen Z colleague who never answers the phone is not rude; each is using the default they grew up with. 48% of people aged 16 and over find it easier to connect with people closer to their own age, rising to 71% of Gen Z. Those defaults shape who gets heard, but they define nobody: we are framed by our generation, not defined by it.

How does each generation prefer to communicate?

WhatsApp is the most common way to contact friends and family for every generation except the Silent Generation, who still phone. Below that headline the generations diverge sharply on voicemail, voice notes, emojis and email. Birth years are given further down and follow the Pew Research Center cut-offs, which our survey's age bands match.

Communication habit	Gen Alpha	Gen Z	Millennials (Gen Y)	Gen X	Baby Boomers	Silent Generation
Most common way to contact friends and family	WhatsApp, 41%	WhatsApp, 35%	WhatsApp, 49%	WhatsApp, 42%	WhatsApp, 34%	Phone, 47%
Like talking on the phone and do it a lot	38%	32%	35%	35%	49%	62%
Would leave a voicemail if a call went unanswered	14%	12%	16%	28%	46%	49%
Would message instead	46%	53%	46%	34%	15%	11%
Use WhatsApp	60%	87%	91%	80%	72%	61%
Use emojis or stickers all the time	49%	43%	39%	24%	13%	6%
Ever leave voice notes	72%	85%	75%	56%	45%	40%
Send email more than once a day	2%	10%	28% to 30%	37%	28% to 30%	28% to 30%
Sent a personal card or letter by post in the last year	Not asked (under 16)	57%	65%	72%	85%	88%
Ever used an AI platform such as ChatGPT	13%	59%	48%	29%	13%	4%

Source: Communication Habits and Preferences 2024; Gen Alpha respondents were aged 8 to 12. Full results are on the how the generations communicate in 2024 page. Three shifts stand out.

The phone call is becoming optional. 62% of the Silent Generation and 49% of Baby Boomers like talking on the phone and do it a lot; among Gen Z the figure is 32%. The landline tells the same story: 73% of the Silent Generation and 52% of Baby Boomers still use one, against 11% of Gen Z. See Can I call you on a landline?

Messaging is the default. For every generation under 78, WhatsApp is the first choice for reaching friends and family, peaking at 49% for Millennials. 91% of Millennials and 87% of Gen Z use WhatsApp, and so do 61% of the Silent Generation. The generations part company on what a message looks like: 43% of Gen Z use emojis or stickers all the time, and 26% of the Silent Generation never do.

Voice notes are the new voicemail. If a call goes unanswered, 46% of Baby Boomers and 49% of the Silent Generation leave a voicemail. Only 12% of Gen Z do; 53% send a message instead. Yet Gen Z are not avoiding the human voice: 85% leave voice notes, while 44% of Gen X never do. The voice has moved from the live call, which demands an answer now, to the recorded note, which can be heard later.

How do the generations communicate at work?

At work the older channels still dominate, with younger workers adding new ones alongside them. Phone or audio call (50%) and email (49%) are the most common preferred ways to get hold of a colleague, and 38% would rather see someone in person, rising to 42% among Gen X and older. 36% of Gen Z and Millennials prefer a messaging app. Voice notes are used by only 6% of workers.

Video calls run against the stereotype. 63% of Millennials use them for work, against 47% of Baby Boomers, but among those who use them, liking rises with age: 40% of Baby Boomers like video calls and do them a lot, compared with 18% of 18 to 21 year olds, 38% of whom only do them if they have to.

Feedback is the other big workplace difference: 45% of Gen Z workers would like it at least weekly, while 17% of Baby Boomers want it only once a year. For feedback, hybrid working and management practice in full, see our guide to managing five generations in the workplace.

Why do misunderstandings happen between generations?

Most cross-generational misunderstandings come from tone that is lost in text and read back through a different set of habits. A message has no voice, so the reader supplies one, and the voice they supply depends on the conventions they grew up with.

Take the single-letter reply. "K." from a Baby Boomer usually means "understood, nothing to add". To a Gen Z reader the same two characters can read as curt, even angry. For anyone who learned to write on paper, a full stop is how a sentence ends; for anyone who learned to write in chat, adding one is a choice, and it reads as finality or annoyance.

The ellipsis has gone the other way: older writers use three dots to soften a sentence, younger readers often see passive aggression. We asked Is it OK to use an ellipsis?; it depends who is reading.

Then there is the phone call itself: the warmest contact to one generation, an interruption to another. Two respondents, half a century apart, put the two sides well:

I much prefer being able to message, give me time to process my response before replying. I find phone calls quite stressful.
Survey respondent aged 22 to 27, Communication Habits and Preferences 2024

Everything is becoming so impersonal. Actually speaking to other people can express your feelings better and you can feel warmth (or otherwise) in their voice.
Survey respondent aged 70 to 78, Communication Habits and Preferences 2024

Both are right, and the gap between them is the subject of our post Don't phone, I won't answer. At work the same loss of tone shows up in email and messaging; a respondent aged 28 to 35 summed it up: "Technology enables efficiency, but tone and nuance can be lost." The most useful comment came from another 28 to 35 year old who switches channel by relationship: a call for grandparents, a text for parents, WhatsApp for siblings. That is the whole skill.

Alastair's five principles

Five principles underpin the advice I give to organisations, and they apply equally at the kitchen table.

Curiosity. Ask how the other person prefers to be contacted, and why, before deciding they are doing it wrong. Most generational friction dissolves at the point where "why would anyone send a voice note?" becomes "what do you like about voice notes?". Curiosity also keeps you learning: 45% of Gen Z say they are among the first to try new things.

Listening. Listening across generations means hearing the message and not just the medium. A terse text from a Gen Z colleague and a long voicemail from a Baby Boomer may contain exactly the same information. Shelley Bridgman explored on the podcast how to listen to young people without judgement or assumption; the same discipline works upwards, so hear the older colleague out too.

Non-judgement. Every generation has a stereotype ready for every other: lazy Gen Z, entitled Millennials, cynical Gen X, out-of-touch Baby Boomers. The data contradicts them: 81% of 18 to 21 year old workers are ambitious to move up, and 98% of Baby Boomers send emails, the same proportion as Gen X. Judge the behaviour in front of you, and judge it slowly.

Avoid comparison. "When I was your age" and "OK Boomer" are the two least useful phrases in generational communication. Comparison turns a difference into a contest, and contests produce defensiveness rather than understanding. It is also unfair: no generation chose the technology it grew up with, and every generation communicated in the way its tools allowed.

Accept difference. Some gaps will not close and do not need to. A Silent Generation relative who phones first (47% do) and a Gen Alpha grandchild who sends a birthday voice note (25% would) can both be right. The goal is not a single house style but enough mutual understanding that each can reach the other, and acceptance is what lets the other four principles hold when a message lands badly.

How to communicate with each generation

These pointers are starting points, not rules; ask before assuming.

Generation Z (born 1997 to 2012)

Message first: only 19% would phone friends or family first, and 53% would message rather than leave a voicemail.
Expect and offer voice notes: 85% leave them.
Give feedback often: 45% of Gen Z workers want it at least weekly.
Do not read a missing full stop as carelessness. See our Generation Z guide.

Millennials, Gen Y (born 1981 to 1996)

WhatsApp is home: 91% use it and 49% reach friends and family that way first, the highest of any generation.
Use email for records, not speed: 36% prefer a messaging app for colleagues.
Trust their reading of the room: 33% say they pick up on non-verbal communication very well.
Watch the phone: 6% hate calls, the highest score. See our Millennials guide.

Generation X (born 1965 to 1980)

Do not cold call: only 24% would accept a call from an unknown number.
Email is their busiest channel: 37% send emails more than once a day, the highest of any generation.
Messenger and WhatsApp both work: 62% use Messenger and 80% WhatsApp.
They will come and find you: 42% of Gen X and older prefer to see a colleague in person. See our Generation X guide.

Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964)

Phone with confidence: 49% like talking on the phone and do it a lot, and 46% will leave a voicemail, so check it.
They are online: 89% use a smartphone and 98% send emails.
Post still matters: 68% send birthday cards by post.
Go easy on the emojis: 14% never use them. See our Baby Boomers guide.

The Silent Generation (born 1928 to 1945)

Phone first: 47% would phone friends or family before anything else.
Do not rule out messaging: 61% use WhatsApp and 79% use a smartphone.
Send a card: 79% send birthday cards by post.
Emojis are optional: 26% never use them. See our Silent Generation guide.

Generation Alpha (born 2013 to 2024)

Already messaging: 60% of 8 to 12 year olds use WhatsApp and 41% reach family that way first.
Expect voice notes and emojis: 72% leave voice notes and 49% use emojis all the time.
Games are a channel: 72% communicate with friends through online games.
Email barely exists for them: 62% never send one. See our Generation Alpha guide.

Anthony Stears, Generational communication in a changing world: how phone communication has evolved.
Shelley Bridgman, The art of listening across generations: listening to young people without judgement.
Dr Lynda Shaw, The science behind why we struggle to understand other generations: brain wiring and unconscious bias.
Tyler Thompson, Why mental health sounds different to every generation: mental health language across the ages.
Victoria Rennoldson, Cultural intelligence across generations: leading across the divide with cultural intelligence.
Robbie Westacott, Writing in the age of AI: why human storytelling still matters.

Frequently asked questions

What are generational communication styles?

Generational communication styles are the channels, tone and etiquette each generation defaults to, shaped by the technology it grew up with. In our 2024 UK survey, 62% of the Silent Generation like talking on the phone and do it a lot, against 32% of Gen Z, and 85% of Gen Z leave voice notes, against 45% of Baby Boomers.

How do you communicate across generations?

Ask each person how they prefer to be contacted, then use that channel. Lead with curiosity, listen to the message rather than the medium, withhold judgement, avoid comparing eras and accept that some differences will remain. Check voicemail for older colleagues, message before calling younger ones, and remember that 71% to 78% of every generation want you to get straight to the point.

Why does Gen Z not answer the phone?

Because messaging gives them time to think. Only 32% of Gen Z like talking on the phone and do it a lot, 26% only do it if they have to and 5% hate it. If a call goes unanswered, 53% would send a message rather than leave a voicemail. Our survey's open comments described anxiety about the immediacy of real-time calls. It is a preference, not rudeness.

Is it rude to send a voice note?

Not to most people under 45. 85% of Gen Z, 75% of Millennials and 72% of Gen Alpha leave voice notes. It is riskier with older recipients: 44% of Gen X, 55% of Baby Boomers and 60% of the Silent Generation never leave one. At work, only 6% of workers prefer voice notes, so ask colleagues first.

What is the best way to communicate with older employees?

Phone, email and face to face, but check rather than assume. 49% of Baby Boomers like phone calls and do them a lot, 98% send emails and 42% of Gen X and older prefer to see a colleague in person. 72% of Baby Boomers use WhatsApp, and 40% of those who use video calls at work like them a lot.

How do you communicate with a multigenerational team?

Agree a team charter for which channel is used for what. Ask each person how often they want feedback, since 41% of workers get less than they would like. Put important information in writing, in person and on the team's messaging platform. Then build mixed-age teams on purpose: 71% of Gen Z find it easier to connect with their own age group.

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