How email fuels miscommunication
Monday, February 6th, 2006
New research 
has confirmed something that most people must already know.
Egotism and the inability to see things from another person’s point of view are the causes of increasing email-based miscommunication.
The study by two psychologists at the University of Chicago found that
people overestimate both their ability to convey their intended tone?¢‚Ǩ‚Äúbe it sarcastic, serious or funny?¢‚Ǩ‚Äúwhen they send an e-mail, as well as their ability to correctly interpret the tone of messages others send to them.
The solution, one of the researchers says, is to pick up the phone.
“E-mail is fine,” he suggests, “if you just want to communicate content but not any emotional material.”
Be careful.
Tags: being a wise-ass, communication, ego, email, emotion, miscommunication