I actually prefer a chat room over email. It's logged, with group discussion and it's asynchronous. I don't have to begin a reply and then wait for a response. I just get it out in the room and keep going.

Another thing I like about using a room is the chance to use Hubot (http://hubot.github.com/). It makes for some fun and can also be extended to actually do useful stuff.

If your team as an aversion to IM try to entice them with a room is better because it's not one to one and everyone can see and answer questions and it facilitates group discussion easily and it's asynchronous so it gets out of your way.