Take care of the tone of your email at the workplace
Who
hasn't experienced having someone we e-mailed misinterpret our intent or
tone? An inappropriate tone can cause a reader to ignore, delete, or
overreact to your message.
All business e-mail writers must be able to control the tone of their
writing so their e-mail messages will have the results they intend. Using
e-mail at the workplace, how you say
it is as important as what you say.
Tone is the quality in your writing that reveals your attitude
toward your topic and reader. Tone comes from your choice of
words, the structure of your sentences, and the order of the information you
present.
Some studies show that people think they've correctly interpreted the tone of
e-mails they receive 90 percent of the time. But they don't. When emotions are
present they fail half of the time, because there are a lot of non-verbal
clues involved in interpersonal communication.
For example, it is extremely difficult to identify the sarcasm in a written
message. So, is better to avoid any type of irony in a professional
email.
It's easy for e-mail writers to let their tone slip from professional to edgy
or sarcastic. E-mail emboldens writers to express thoughts they would never say
to a reader's face. And e-mail is written quickly, then sent.
Most e-mail writers don't review their messages as carefully as they should.
When they do review messages before sending, they're looking at the content,
not the tone.
But tone is important. A flippant tone that the reader doesn't find
funny, or an angry tone can damage a relationship as well as progress on
a company project. The key is to make sure that you do not contribute unknowingly
to incorrect perceptions and inaccurate impressions.
http://emailworkplace.blogspot.com/2009/03/take-care-of-tone-of-your-email-at.html, July 7, 2010