Do not expect your written communications to be understood.
In effect, e-mail cannot adequately convey emotion.
A recent study by Profs. Justin Kruger of New York University and Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago focused on how well sarcasm is detected in electronic messages. Their conclusion: Not only do e-mail senders overestimate their ability to communicate feelings, but e-mail recipients also overestimate their ability to correctly decode those feelings.
| Frequency that.. | Phone | |
| Communicator believes he is clearly communicating | 78% | 78% |
| Receiver believes he is correctly interpreting | 89% | 91% |
| Receiver correctly interprets message | 56% | 73% |
via Future Pundit