Q: I consider myself a pretty decent in-person communicator. However people often misinterpret my emails. This creates confusion, more work or hurt feelings. What am I doing wrong?
A: Of all the communication mediums used at work, email is the most likely to result in miscommunication. It’s happened to most of us, you send an email that’s meant to be funny and receive a cold and curt response. Conversely, we’ve all gotten emails that make us scratch our heads or think “is this a joke?”
The most obvious reason for our wires getting easily crossed is that email messages don’t include facial, or voice cues to hint at the intended meaning and emotion. As we type, we “see” or “hear” the emotion and think we’re conveying it. But, studies show that emailers overrate their ability to convey feelings in writing, and recipients overrate their ability to accurately interpret feelings. That’s right, we’re all worse at conveying and interpreting than we think we are.
Back to you. Without seeing samples I can’t tell your specific email sin, but by describing the most common ones, you might self-diagnose and hopefully improve.
Abruptness: Do you omit greetings? Neglect to write “please” and “thank you”? It’s acceptable to be short when replying to replies, but the first email should include the above, otherwise it sounds like barking. A simple Hi, and Thx at the end does the trick.
Wordiness: Do you write in long sentences? Do you bury the important point in a sandwich of words? Do you try to cover too many topics at once? Keep it short. Bold important words or dates. Consider those who’ll read your email on small mobile phone screens. And no, this doesn’t contradict the above paragraph, you can be brief AND gracious.
Over copying: Do you cc: too many people? Sometimes the fact that a certain individual is copied (someone’s boss, HR) can change the whole tone of the message and turn it into a threat.
Remember, small email conflicts can quickly get out of hand and even damage work relationships. The minute you sense a message has been misinterpreted, pick up the phone and call.
© Copyright Eva Del Rio
