Death by Email

I've seen some sender's signature line with a phrase like, "if this email is short, it's because I'm replying on my iphone" because I agree with Hella #11, it's very easy to be short and curt when using a phone or tablet.

Hi Mike...When I do make the call I like to follow up with an email so that I have a good record of what transpired.  I appreciate the same from the other party.  Using "Please" and "thank you" go a long way in making request easier to take so I always am sure to include them both in speaking with someone or emailing them.  Being polite is just as easy in an email.

Kate

Inflections and facial expressions are everything in a conversation. Without them, it's easy to come across the wrong way.

Mike, this is the perfect title for a perfect dilemma! It's too tempting to put something in writing that needs to be discussed with words just so we can check it off our list. Sensitive topics need to be discussed.

Sharon

   I have frequently been guilty of coming across as curt or short in my email communications as I tend to use them for informational purposes when conducting business and not as a narrative or prose style as one might when on the phone or face-to-face. The medium lends itself to less of a conversational style than that of the soliloquy or diatribe if you let it and I don't pay enough attention to the feel of the communique.

   In emails and letters that I think may be more important than the average personal message, I usually have my wife proofread them for errors in both content and tone, especially when cooler heads need to prevail. But you never really know just how 'important' any given recipient may deem them.

   Maya Angelou has been quoted as saying, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." I wish I would have learned that at a much younger age. Unfortunately, I still occasionally commit "Death by Email"...

~ \ | / ~

"Remember - Think twice, push ‘Send' once. Blogging, posting, commenting: It's all 'never having to say you're sorry', because that won't make any difference --

-- it's FOREVER!"

I had a client once who berated me through emails. When I would call him, he wouldn't answer the phone. He didn't have the guts to tell me over the phone. I got tired of his abuse in this way and dropped him.

LOL I get the wrong end of that more than I like and when it comes up I have to go back to the email in question and ask... "how did you interpret that from this"? Usually that clears the air but agreed without hearing it an email can be interpreted in a variety of ways

True emails do not allow you to observe body language, but I believe that the convenience that emails allow make the downside worthwhile.

Great post, and so true! This is very important in an age where some buyers prefer to be contacted by email or text.

Morning Mike first of all congrats on the feature.  I come across as being a d- -k but in reality I'm just an ole lovable fuzz ball. 

Hi Mike, I also think the mood of the email depends upon our mood. Ever read an email and weren't in a good mood? That is when things can come across the wrong way in that situation. I prefer phone conversations but sometimes that doesn't work out.

Mike,

This is so true. Even between people who know each other well texts can easily come across in a tone or attitude other than the one intended. When it comes to email, I used to always have a rule that I would never return email until I have had two cups of coffee. When I did so, they just came across wrong. 

Mike, I try to keep my emails short and to the point. What they lack is the warmth of our voices and the personal touch that a phone call brings. A text is even colder and less personal. A tweet is so off the map.

Mike - Like text, email can be difficult to convey the proper tone.