There are many, many reasons why I don’t like emails.  I strive constantly, so far without success, to achieve the success in getting them out of my life that my good friend, Luis Suarez (@elsua) has managed.

But top of the list of my pet hates concerning emails is the problem of “email tennis”.

I’m sure you have all experienced it.  You write an email to someone with a perfectly polite message, such as:  ”I thought your presentation at the meeting yesterday was good”.  Then it starts.  The dialogue goes something like this.

“What do you mean, it was good. I worked on that for two weeks and all you can say is it was good.” (cc: your boss)

“For God’s sake. I try and compliment you and you can’t even be grateful.” (cc: your boss and the other guy’s boss)

“Typical of you. Trying to make it look like I’m the one being unreasonable, not you.” (cc: half the staff in the department)

And so it goes on, back and forth over the net until by the end of the day the whole company and a few hundred other people who have been copied in are all in the loop and all throwing their own comments in as well for good measure.  And you were just trying to compliment someone!

Now if that had been by phone or face to face your tone of voice in the original message would have conveyed your sincerity and the dialogue would have gone as follows:

“I thought your presentation at the meeting yesterday was good”

“Gee thanks!”

End of conversation!

No misunderstanding and a couple of man-days of effort saved!!!

(@Demeto)