Dealing with People You Can't Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst, 2nd Edition

22The Eight Ounces of Prevention in E-Mail Communication

We’ll say it again! In interpersonal communication, when something is lost, something else is gained. In the case of e-mail, you lose the nonverbal and auditory set of signals that add color, depth, and dimension to the words that are communicated. That’s a lot to lose! Without the 55 percent and the 38 percent, the remaining 7 percent becomes 100 percent of the interaction. Adding to the loss is an artificial gain of 38 percent hallucinations, based on how you think the other person sounds!

But here’s what you gain from using electronic communication tools, including e-mail and message ...