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Email Fail
8 years ago by
Sometimes an email reads all wrong.
You can’t say what you want to say, how you want to say it.
I’ll be in a rush to reply to an email, but then it seems a little “off” to the person on the other end… and I can always tell because their next response is monosyllabic. No exclamation point, no polite sign off…
So, of course I respond with:
Hi!!!
Thanks so much for that, it’s soooo nice of you.
Have the best day ever!!!
… and, even though I want to show them that I wasn’t being rude, I think maybe it’s a little much.
Every time I hit send, I cringe.
Is it just me, or does this happen to everyone??
This used to happen to me a lot. My boss used to critique everyday I would write, either I was too friendly or too serious, or she just didn’t like anything! But I think it’s natural to overthink your emails sometimes and people will sometimes misunderstand emails and texts, I know it happens to me too.
I’m not proud to say it but I’ve sent some real email bombs in my career and I’ve received a few as well. It sounds like yours were completely unintentional. Just remember that the “tone” is generally in the ears of the receiver…. But, yeah, if you’re not sure, or even a bit annoyed or rushed when you write ones to people who don’t know you, then save it, move on to something else for an hour or two and then reread it before you hit send.
happens to me
http://hashtagliz.com
Oh Neada! Thanks for posting this! I feel less weird :)
It happens to me like every day. If I heard myself I would put smileys everywhere, and usually I do, it’s really ok in my job. But when I write to someone “important”, for example a CFO or the CEO of the brand I work with, it gets complicated… After I write the first version (with all the smileys), my other self comes out like “no no, too childish, remove all the smileys, switch the “hi” for “good morning”… Then the email will end up being some kind of cold email, not representing at all who I am or how enthusiast I am about the project.
But then, if the other part responds very friendly and casual, I will be like “that’s what I wanted to do in the first place!”, but now I can’t suddenly add all the smileys, so I have to do some kind of moonwalking, by adding stuffs (smileys, !!!, multiple vowels) gradually again . Argh, head games.
That’s why I prefer the phone, even if I’m brief, I know my voice won’t cheat, in the good or bad way :)
Haha! your story made me smile! It’s exactly the same for me !!!
Thanks for sharing :)
As everyone these days, I send a lot of emails 24/7. I mean A LOT. Golden rule when I address clients, no matter in how friendly terms we are- is to be polite and follow etiquette (it differs from culture to culture, but you get me). When it comes to extra-work emails I follow my gut. In both cases it is usual to have second thoughts from time to time, but I do not let it get to me that much.
I’ve been told that I “look older” in my E-Mails. The people I work with expect someone older when they finally meet me. I don’t know if that’s good or bad…
xx,
E.
http://www.theslowpace.com
Happens to me and make me wish I could call and tell them what I really mean.
The text without the vocal just don’t seems right most of the time.
http://www.distinguisheddiva.com/2015/08/seventies-polka-dots-mini-dress.html
Happens to me a lot, both ways actually, and once I was told,
“why so many !!!!! this is so aggressive…”
and I thought that was just upbeat!
emails are hard, tone doesn’t translate
I’m all for the understated message. I never use smileys, nor a lot of punctuation (don’t overdo the exclamation marks or the “…”).
It makes me seem a bit cold and aloof, but I prefer that to how people do things nowadays.