I've been in the consulting / IT / corporate governance business for a
long time.
We've learned that e-mail (and a forum like this one) is a very "hard"
medium.
That is, all of the non-verbal cues about meaning, emotions, context are
mostly
missing. What remains, in e-messages, are only the words, which without
those
non-verbal cues, convey thoughts and ideas in almost absolutist terms.
Nuances
are completely lost.
In our business we've had to be very careful about this, because with
these
absolutist, hard, words, incorrect interpretations -- and incorrect
emotional and
contextual responses -- can very easily occur.
Most participants here have excellent verbal/writing skills. Messages are
enjoyable and informative to read.
But care needs to be taken to understand that the "hardness" of the medium
means the loss of non-verbal cues and nuances .. and therefore
misunderstanding
the intentions behind the communication.
In other words, sometimes we have to chill out.
Bob Benson
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