Writing Journal 4
I think everyone at some point in their lives would have been misunderstood while communicating. When people from different cultures communicate, there is bound to be miscommunication. Communication styles, language differences and nonverbal communication are some of the causes of miscommunication.
Personally, I have had instances where my communication was misunderstood. Most of the times I was misunderstood have come through email exchanges or texts. Sometimes I find it difficult to convey or interpret emotions through emails or texts and that has led to trouble a few times. There is no doubt that nonverbal communication cannot take the place of face-face communications. Sometimes, it can be hard to guess whether one is angry, happy, sad or sarcastic. Of course, there are times when tone may be deciphered in email exchanges but not every time.
I recall sometimes back, at an earlier time in my career. My supervisor had sent me a very long email, explaining how she wanted a particular task done. The email was as detailed as it could be, crossing all the t’s and dotting the i’s. I wondered why she had to explain a simple task with so many words. Instead of responding back with a detailed response, I responded with a simple, ‘ok, I got your mail’. I guess I wasn’t in the best of mood so I allowed my emotion get the best of me. She was angry. She wanted a more detailed response to her mail but I wasn’t cut out for that. In my mind, since I understood what she wanted, there was no need responding back with another long mail. The lesson for me here is to communicate my tone clearly when sending emails. I have come to understand that emails generally default to a negative tone. There are times you receive emails from people that sounded harsh in tone but the people themselves are not that way. It is therefore important to start email conversations with some sort of pleasantries no matter how official it might seem. A little ‘Yes, I will be happy to work on your request is better than simple ‘yeah’ or ‘ok’. The growth of an organisation is fuelled by effective communication and for communication to be effective, it has to be clear.
After that event, I decided to improve my email skills. I would often reread any message and double-check for grammar and misused words before I send out. Sometimes I even share the email with a close colleague to proofread before sending. Also as a rule of thumb, I do not send emails when I am angry especially official ones. Emails sent at the spur of the moment usually ends in regret.
PS: This is a writing assignment for my Narrative Writing course at Arizona State University.
