Point Lookout: a free weekly publication of Chaco Canyon Consulting
Volume 24, Issue 2;   January 10, 2024: Six Traps in Email or Text: II

Six Traps in Email or Text: II

by

Collaboration requires communication. For many, communicating often takes place in email and text message systems. But much of the effort expended in communication is dedicated to resolving confusions that we created for ourselves. Here are four examples.
Stela of Minnakht, chief of the Egyptian scribes, during the reign of Ay (c. 1321 BCE)

Stela of Minnakht, chief of the Egyptian scribes, during the reign of Ay (c. 1321 BCE). Stelae are usually carved or inscribed stone slabs or pillars used for commemorative purposes. Although they are essentially text messages, they don't represent components of conversations in the sense that modern text messages do, because there is no conversation partner capable of responding.

Image (cc) Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported by Clio20 courtesy Wikimedia.

If you've ever felt a twinge of regret after clicking "Send," or if you've ever had to send a text message to correct what AutoCorrect did to what you actually typed, you're familiar with some of the traps that await you in email or text messaging systems. Last time I described a procedure for reducing the frequency of incidents like these. In essence, the strategy reduces the error rate by adjusting your approach to using these email or text messaging systems.

In this post, I describe four more examples of traps, and how to avoid them.

Writing to be funny
Writing to be funny is *difficult*. The difficulty might trace to the narrowness of the margin between humor and truth. That might be why the only thing worse than humor that falls flat is humor that's misunderstood as serious and which is then taken as insulting.
Unless your correspondent is a close pal, or you are yourself a professional comedy writer, writing to be funny is risky. You can manage the risk somewhat with emojis, but using emojis to indicate humor is roughly equivalent to writing, "I thought I was saying something funny, but just in case, I'm including this little cartoon to indicate 'this is supposed to be funny.'" That kind of note undermines the humor.
It's OK to be funny in email or text messaging. Just be sure to give message composition the effort and time humor requires.
Asking, "Let me know if X"
To set a Let-Me-Know trap for yourself, for example, advise your correspondent, "If you see any problems with this, let me know." That might be safe if you're communicating with a friend or someone who wants to be helpful. But it's risky if your correspondent doesn't care, or is abusive, or is seeking revenge, or is just plain mean. In those cases, your correspondent can choose not to respond at all unless the condition X is met. Consider our example, "If you see any problems with this, let me know." In this case, your correspondent would feel no obligation to send a "looks ok" response. You'd receive a response only if there's a problem. That's fine, if that's what you intend. But often people who express a Let-Me-Know request do expect a response of some kind whether or not there is a problem. To avoid this trap, express the request as "Let me know either way, if you see a problem or not."
Using terms that are familiar but not uniformly defined
Using terms that lack a single universal definition can lead to confusion. Examples that generally mean the end of the business day, but which are ambiguous, include COB (close of business), EOB (End of Business), EOD (End of Day), COP (Close of Play), and EOP (End of Play). The source of the ambiguity is that most organizations don't define these terms precisely.
Modern Unless your correspondent is a close pal,
or you are yourself a professional comedy
writer, writing to be funny is risky
work patterns that lead to ambiguity about the end of the business day include working from home, working at different sites or for different employers with different business hours, and working across time zones.
In the end-of-day example, to avoid the ambiguity trap, you can be specific about the time: "1700 Eastern," for example. Or you can cite the time using Team Standard Time, which is a predefined time zone you previously agreed to use for citing times.
Sending ambiguous correction messages
After you've sent a message, you might suddenly realize that it's incorrect in an important way. Perhaps it could be misinterpreted or maybe it contains outdated information. If the erroneous elements are important enough, sending a correction message is appropriate. A common error in correction messages is failing to clearly identify the message or messages that are being corrected.
Provide unambiguous identification of the message you're correcting. Include the recipients or recipient lists, sender, time sent, date sent, and message subject line (if any).
One more point. If the correction applies to only a part of the message, clearly indicate which part. Examples: "The second paragraph," or "the reference to butterflies should have been orange butterflies.

Last words

One way to reduce errors in messaging is to make templates for frequently sent messages (or portions of messages). Most email clients and many text-messaging systems have template facilities. For a more specific approach to error reduction, track the errors you make. Awareness of the traps that caught you in the past is your best defense against repetition.  Six Traps in Email or Text: I First issue in this series  Go to top Top  Next issue: On Miscommunication  Next Issue

101 Tips for Writing and Managing EmailAre you so buried in email that you don't even have time to delete your spam? Do you miss important messages? So many of the problems we have with email are actually within our power to solve, if we just realize the consequences of our own actions. Read 101 Tips for Writing and Managing Email to learn how to make peace with your inbox. Order Now!

Where There's Smoke There's EmailAnd if you have organizational responsibility, you can help transform the culture to make more effective use of email. You can reduce volume while you make content more valuable. You can discourage email flame wars and that blizzard of useless if well-intended messages from colleagues and subordinates. Read Where There's Smoke There's Email to learn how to make email more productive at the organizational scale — and less dangerous. Order Now!

Your comments are welcome

Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrenaXXxGCwVgbgLZDuRner@ChacDjdMAATPdDNJnrSwoCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.

About Point Lookout

This article in its entirety was written by a 
          human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Effective Communication at Work:

A German Shepherd in a calmer momentWhen Fear Takes Hold
Leading an organization through a rough patch, we sometimes devise solutions that are elegant, but counterintuitive or difficult to explain. Even when they would almost certainly work, a simpler fix might be more effective.
Carl Philipp Gottfried von ClausewitzLong-Loop Conversations: Clearing the Fog
In virtual or global teams, conversations can be long, painful affairs. Settling issues and clearing misunderstandings can take weeks instead of days, or days instead of hours. Here are some techniques that ease the way to mutual agreement and understanding.
Historic handshake in Porvoo Finland in 2007The Ups and Downs of American Handshakes: II
Where the handshake is a customary business greeting, it's possible to offend accidentally. Here's Part II of a set of guidelines for handshakes in the USA.
"The Thinker," by Auguste RodinThey Just Don't Understand
When we cannot resolve an issue in open debate, we sometimes try to explain the obstinacy of others. The explanations we favor can tell us more about ourselves than they do about others.
Truth and LiesBarriers to Accepting Truth: I
In workplace debates, a widely used strategy involves informing the group of facts or truths of which some participants seem to be unaware. Often, this strategy is ineffective for reasons unrelated to the credibility of the person offering the information. Why does this happen?

See also Effective Communication at Work for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Mark Twain in 1907Coming July 16: Responding to Unwelcome Events
Unwelcome events have two kinds of effects on decision-makers. One set of effects appears as we respond to events that have actually occurred. Another set manifests itself as we prepare for unwelcome events that haven't yet occurred, but which might occur. Making a wrong decision in either case can be costly. Available here and by RSS on July 16.
A USA road sign indicating a winding road ahead, with an initial curve to the rightAnd on July 23: Microdelegation
Microdelegation is a style of delegation in which the delegator unintentionally communicates the task to the subordinate in such detail and so repetitively that the subordinate is offended. As a result of this delegation style, many subordinates feel distrusted or suspected of fraud or goldbricking. Available here and by RSS on July 23.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenaXXxGCwVgbgLZDuRner@ChacDjdMAATPdDNJnrSwoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

Reprinting this article

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Follow Rick

Send email or subscribe to one of my newsletters Follow me at LinkedIn Follow me at Bluesky, or share a post Subscribe to RSS feeds Subscribe to RSS feeds
The message of Point Lookout is unique. Help get the message out. Please donate to help keep Point Lookout available for free to everyone.
Technical Debt for Policymakers BlogMy blog, Technical Debt for Policymakers, offers resources, insights, and conversations of interest to policymakers who are concerned with managing technical debt within their organizations. Get the millstone of technical debt off the neck of your organization!
Go For It: Sometimes It's Easier If You RunBad boss, long commute, troubling ethical questions, hateful colleague? Learn what we can do when we love the work but not the job.
303 Tips for Virtual and Global TeamsLearn how to make your virtual global team sing.
101 Tips for Managing ChangeAre you managing a change effort that faces rampant cynicism, passive non-cooperation, or maybe even outright revolt?
101 Tips for Effective MeetingsLearn how to make meetings more productive — and more rare.
Exchange your "personal trade secrets" — the tips, tricks and techniques that make you an ace — with other aces, anonymously. Visit the Library of Personal Trade Secrets.
If your teams don't yet consistently achieve state-of-the-art teamwork, check out this catalog. Help is just a few clicks/taps away!
Ebooks, booklets and tip books on project management, conflict, writing email, effective meetings and more.