The Joy of Text
Jun. 25th, 2004 11:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
murakoziOne of the advantages to posting stuff here is that one can get up on a soapbox now and then and rant 'n ramble and comment on things as if one knows what one is talking about. So, having said that, I'm gonna do some ramblin...
Email and IM and other text-based formats has grown so common that it's replaced a lot of conversations that, in the past, would have been verbally. You really lose a lot, when you can't see the speaker's expression or hear their voice. It's very easy to misinterpret the intent behind the words when you lose these attributes.
When I used to manage a team that responded to inquiries and requests that customers sent in via email, one of the first things I'd tell them during training was that 9 times out of 10, people are going to interpret responses in the most negative way possible. Okay, that doesn't apply to ALL the responses, generally just the ones that a rep couldn't resolve immediately. As an example, I'd try saying a couple phrases in different ways. Something that might actually be written in an email like:
"I know you're doing your best and I'm sure you'll find the answer soon."
Now that's a sentence that a customer could send in when a support rep replied that they hadn't been able to resolve some problem yet, but is still working on it. While it may have been written in a purely understanding and supportive way (acknowledging the efforts so far and being understanding) it's very easy to read it in a number of much nastier ways. By changing the emphasis on various words, it can be read as being downright snotty. So much is affected by things like the recipient's mood, or interactions with other people before they read the message, or even just how they EXPECT you to respond. Without intending it, what you write can be interpreted as being snide or condescending, even when it was written with the best intentions. I'd tell my team to periodically look at a response before sending it (especially when dealing with an upset customer) and try reading it different ways. Try to read it so that it's insulting or offensive. If you can do that easily, then it really needs to be rewritten. I used to be very careful about doing this, even with personal missives. Since it's no longer a part of my job, however, I've become less diligent about it. Lest I be accused of throwing stones in glass houses, I freely admit that I misinterpret things quite often.
Sadly, it seems the trend to take things people type in the worst possible light has grown over the years. Yes, in the olden days of dialup BBS's and DDials, there were flame wars and misunderstandings, but it seems to have grown worse of late. The growing reliance on text-based communications has really robbed us of vital hints and cues that the speaking voice provides. I'm not saying we shouldn't use email and IM and the like. Heck, I love using 'em. They actually do have the advantage that you can step back, take a moment, and re-read what somebody has said. See if maybe you're reading something into it other than what the writer intended. If someone says or does something that seems insulting or nasty, just try reading it again. Maybe that is indeed what they wanted to say and how they wanted to say it, or maybe you're wrong.
Is there a solution to this? Heck, I dunno. I'm just rambling.
Email and IM and other text-based formats has grown so common that it's replaced a lot of conversations that, in the past, would have been verbally. You really lose a lot, when you can't see the speaker's expression or hear their voice. It's very easy to misinterpret the intent behind the words when you lose these attributes.
When I used to manage a team that responded to inquiries and requests that customers sent in via email, one of the first things I'd tell them during training was that 9 times out of 10, people are going to interpret responses in the most negative way possible. Okay, that doesn't apply to ALL the responses, generally just the ones that a rep couldn't resolve immediately. As an example, I'd try saying a couple phrases in different ways. Something that might actually be written in an email like:
"I know you're doing your best and I'm sure you'll find the answer soon."
Now that's a sentence that a customer could send in when a support rep replied that they hadn't been able to resolve some problem yet, but is still working on it. While it may have been written in a purely understanding and supportive way (acknowledging the efforts so far and being understanding) it's very easy to read it in a number of much nastier ways. By changing the emphasis on various words, it can be read as being downright snotty. So much is affected by things like the recipient's mood, or interactions with other people before they read the message, or even just how they EXPECT you to respond. Without intending it, what you write can be interpreted as being snide or condescending, even when it was written with the best intentions. I'd tell my team to periodically look at a response before sending it (especially when dealing with an upset customer) and try reading it different ways. Try to read it so that it's insulting or offensive. If you can do that easily, then it really needs to be rewritten. I used to be very careful about doing this, even with personal missives. Since it's no longer a part of my job, however, I've become less diligent about it. Lest I be accused of throwing stones in glass houses, I freely admit that I misinterpret things quite often.
Sadly, it seems the trend to take things people type in the worst possible light has grown over the years. Yes, in the olden days of dialup BBS's and DDials, there were flame wars and misunderstandings, but it seems to have grown worse of late. The growing reliance on text-based communications has really robbed us of vital hints and cues that the speaking voice provides. I'm not saying we shouldn't use email and IM and the like. Heck, I love using 'em. They actually do have the advantage that you can step back, take a moment, and re-read what somebody has said. See if maybe you're reading something into it other than what the writer intended. If someone says or does something that seems insulting or nasty, just try reading it again. Maybe that is indeed what they wanted to say and how they wanted to say it, or maybe you're wrong.
Is there a solution to this? Heck, I dunno. I'm just rambling.