Assessment of Prior Email or Other Electronic Communication

Electronic communication is tricky, to say the least!

A number of my text messages have been “read wrong” by the recipient, due to punctuation, or lack thereof, and emojis (believe it or not). It is definitely my recommendation that for personal or sensitive topics, make a phone call or have a face-to-face conversation!

“It’s not about WHAT you say, but HOW you say it”.

For people that know me, I tend to go above and beyond to be nice, typically throwing an “LOL” or a smile face emoji when texting, to ensure that the reader will understand good intent. There are those times when I am busy and unable to make sure that my tone is positive, and might end my message with only a period symbol (which is not like me). At times this has been read wrong as if I have an attitude or tone in my voice, which sets off the reader’s response to be the same. It creates a miscommunication and wastes time on conversation explaining that there was never any ill-intent to begin with.

For example- Same response, different punctuation: Someone sends me a text asking how I’m doing, I can reply with “I’m good 😊”, or “I’m good.”. The latter seems to be short and not willing to keep the conversation going. The first response shows positive energy and happiness to respond to the question. Both set the tone for the reader’s response (or ghosting).

I can’t blame someone for responding to my text message based off of the way I punctuate or don’t punctuate my message. However, if it is someone I am close with, I’d expect them to understand that I won’t always respond cheerfully, and if they feel like I have an attitude, that they should call me so we can figure it out before it becomes a larger issue.

All in all, I try my best to send my messages to accurately reflect my feelings/tone/mood. Professionally speaking, I always try to have a positive tone and make sure to end my message with a “Thank you!”. If I am unable to do so, I will definitely give the reader a call to settle any misunderstanding!