Human communication is fairly messy, right? Our styles of communication are as diverse as our temperaments and upbringings. It only gets more complex when you throw in gender dynamics as well as the fact that certain tones and words have certain meanings to each of us depending on who we are. Communication in the business world can get more complicated as we deal with important decisions often dealing with large sums of money that have to be made in a short amount of time. It’s no wonder the wires often get crossed!!?
Now when we take out the human interaction from that communication (and most of it is non-verbal, right?), then the margin of error for miscommunication gets quite high. It can result in a lost deal or worse — a broken relationship. I’m talking here about text-based communication, specifically email communication. Our worlds, especially in business, are too small and keeping customers is too important for haphazard discourse. We have to be careful.
Something I read recently confirmed this: “[A Standford Business School study] focused on business negotiations made face t0 face, over the telephone, and via email. They found that negotiations performed exclusively over email broke down far more often than face-to-face or even telephone negotiations. The implications of these findings go far beyond business dealings” (Flickering Pixels, pg 117).
You’re probably reading this and nodding. We’ve all experienced the limitations of this medium that ‘revolutionized’ how efficiently we could do business not too long ago. Fewer car trips, quicker response time, equals more time to make new ‘contacts’ each day and more business for me! But turns out it’s not that efficient at all. “Intonation, body language, context, the rules of civil discourse are all stripped away, despite our best efforts to create a never-ending stream of emoticons. Given the limitations of email, the chances of miscommunication are near certain (pg 118).” Yes, it’s much easier for the reader to ‘read-in’ to what is being said, for things to quickly escalate. And when things get really bad, an electronic relationship is must easier to end.
So what do we do? Our world relies on this medium now. Well, I’ve got a few helpful tools and tips. One may be using a new program I recently heard about: ToneCheck. That’s right, it’s like spell check but for your tone. This application is still in beta mode and looks like it’s free.
When you’ve typed a fuming email, you can have a friend, spouse, or someone outside of the business read and/or edit it before you send it. Or just pick up the phone or better, see them face-to-face. You’ll always communicate your message better that way, and it will strengthen your relationship.
Another helpful tip: When in doubt — don’t send it. The old count to 10 adage rings true, too. It’s just not worth being right at the risk of losing the business or causing office drama.
Remember what McLuhan taught us, that the medium is the message. It’s not just what you say, but how it is said, and this medium definitely has its limits. So a little more face time with your clients or coworkers will go a long way; and no, I don’t mean through your iPhone 4 
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