There are so many ways to maintain good relationships and good communication.There are so many ways to destroy good relationships and good communication.
I've never been a fan of expressing or working out problems over e-mail. It doesn't carry, in the very least, tone behind what the person means. Without tone, a message can be so easily construed. Another thing... we say things, when working out problems, that we later regret, or at least, find out we were wrong in believing, so when it's in e-mail, it's a permanent record, it can be forwarded to numerous people, and the list of terrible things that can happen to it continues. But a phone or in-person conversation is temporal. You say what you want to say, you work it out, and then you walk away with an impression, not the verbatim of things that maybe you wished you hadn't said.
What are your impressions?
2 comments:
I think that it really depends on the issue at hand. Sometimes, if you're dealing with a complicated subject, the emotional ambiguity of email can be a good thing, since in person the nuances of what you are trying to communicate can easily be lost in your tone or a few phrases that catch someone's ear. The key is that it has to be a well-written email, not just slapdash.
touché
Especially if someone is so upset, they don't want to put all the tone behind it. Perhaps I would append with the idea that it's fine to e-mail some things that are on one's mind, but with the intent of working it out in a more personal way... after things have cooled down.
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