By 
By Paul Moore
A few weeks ago I had to attend a board meeting. Prior to the board meeting a member sent an email and copied it to all members of the board. Sadly his observations were as incorrect as it was possible to be, and the first 15 minutes of the meeting consisted of him being surgically filleted in order to let him see why he was so wrong.
If he had not chosen to send the mail to everyone he would not have had to suffer this deeply unsettling conversation and more importantly neither would the rest of us. If ever there was an example of how email writing can go spectacularly wrong this was it.
Email has become one of the most dangerous booby traps of the 21st century. People now use it as a means of passing the buck. Colleagues who are literally next door will send an email rather than walk the ten yards it would take to knock a door and have a conversation. The problem with that, of course, is that I could deny we ever had that conversation so the email is sent to cover what might become an exposed backside. Even if the walk is made and the information passed an email will then arrive telling me that this is to confirm the conversation we had.
For a period I had an automatic email answer which responded to every mail that landed with me. It said: Thank you for your mail. It is my policy not to be bullied by email so if there is a direct question in your mail I will answer but if you are merely imparting information do not expect a response. I will reply no sooner than in forty-eight hours. I was then notified by human resources that my mail message was inappropriate and have since therefore taken to only answering mails from people I like.
So it was fascinating to read this week a study which suggested that the way in which we write emails could have a profound impact on how our peers, and bosses, perceive us. There seems to be three main issues. The first is the use of excessive punctuation, for example using exclamation marks to indicate enthusiasm. Apparently this has the opposite impact because it looks ‘bossy’ or conversely (and confusingly) suggests insecurity and a need to be seen to be engaged. Interestingly these assumptions are made more often about women than men.
The second issue is the use of emojis. Those who claim to be experts in this field say emojis should never be used in emails because people can read them in a myriad of different ways and also it suggests somewhat infantile communication skills. Most crucially, never put a kiss in an email unless you would actually kiss that person in real life.
Finally, do not ‘soften’ your language or apologise in email, unless of course you have done something you really need to apologise for. Be direct and clear and do not engage in people pleasing. I would add to this expert advice a couple of things which drive me personally crazy. Firstly the use of Hi. Do not hi me verbally or in writing, not even in a text. I do not know you well enough to be that familiar and I am also not a teenage schoolgirl or boy. Hello will suffice. Secondly, use proper words please, not abbreviations (sambo, barby) and there is nothing wrong with cannot or do not.
Other than that, male or female I am more than happy for you to communicate with me by email. As mentioned above, there is every likelihood I will simply ignore it in any case.
