what is your tone like……
The other day I was responding to an email that I recieved asking about a particular service I provide. I thought my response was perfectly reasonable. Unfortunately the person recieving my email took it totally wrong and replied with a angry email about me asking for money when they were just inquiring about my service…..
We had a couple further emails between us but ultimately it took a face to face meeting to straighten out the misunderstanding. It was good we met because they were fine with my fees and we ended up doing business.
But when this happened it really made me think about some of the technologies we all use and take for granted. Email being on of those technologies. Email has changed the world in the ways we do business and interact on both a personal and business level. We can communicate with someone on the other side of the planet or just in the next cubicle at work.
But as great as email is it can actually be a very poor form of communication……the reason is tone and facial expression.
Neither of which you can see in an email. So what we might think is a totally innocuous email can be taken completely wrong by the reciever.
So I have decided to try and never resolve an issue using email. Because no matter how great a writer you might be you can’t put the human experience into those words.
You might think about using the same policy. I think you might find yourself avoiding alot of problems or saving a relationship or some business deal….
So if you ever send me an email and don’t get a response…..the next phone you hear could be me calling because my answer is more important to get right than to get quick.