Editorial
Communication is one of the main duties of a manager outlined by Henri Fayol in his classic work on the key functions of management. Communication is hard enough at the best of times, but can be especially difficult when working with remote or hybrid teams, where a lot of the communication is done virtually.
Virtual communication often lacks the nuances of in-person communication, as it's difficult to effectively convey tone of voice and body language. Overcoming these shortcomings is far from straightforward, however. For instance, research from Tel Aviv University's Coller School of Management found that using emoticons can cause colleagues to view you as less powerful.
Looking for Effective Communication? Email Isn't It
Research from Syracuse University reminds us that email, even without the use of emoticons, isn't any better. Email is quick and reliable, but unlike in-person conversations, it can't convey facial expressions or body language.
Even a phone call includes vocal cues and tone of voice, which emails lack, making them easy to misinterpret. Emails can seem more negative than intended as a result. Recipients may get upset, while senders remain unaware of the miscommunication.
“The worst offenders are people who are absolutely convinced they cannot get it wrong,” the author, Kristin Byron, explained. “We really overestimate the extent to which emails can convey emotion, and there are predictable ways in which we can get them wrong.”
Related Article: Internal Communications: Email vs. Chat vs. Discussion vs. Meetings
The Challenge of Expressing Emotions
Byron looked at how email communication can convey both intentional and unintentional content. She explained that the lack of cues in an email makes misunderstandings common, especially when trying to communicate emotional content.
However, she continues that while communicating emotions is difficult via email, we shouldn't assume that nonverbal cues are entirely absent. For instance, it's widely accepted that using all caps means we're shouting. Emoticons can also help to convey nonverbal cues, but as explained previously, they're far from risk free.
"However, despite the availability of some nonverbal cues, research indicates that their purposeful use remains infrequent," Byron explains. "Further, many authors of articles on ‘netiquette’ — etiquette related to Internet use — advise employees to use sparingly, or not at all, cues, such as emoticons, in work-related emails because their use may appear too casual and unprofessional."
Emails Can Spread Misunderstanding
Unclear emails can leave recipients feeling confused or threatened. The author quoted an MBA student who received an upsetting email from her boss: “I can never tell how my manager feels. When organizing a meeting, I got a sarcastic reply (‘This had better be good’) that I took to heart.” She later learned the manager meant it as a joke.
Positive emails can come across as flat rather than upbeat. For example, a colleague was disappointed by an email the department chair sent about an award she had won from a foundation. Although he likely intended to convey positive emotion, she perceived the email as neutral, leaving her disappointed by his “lack of enthusiasm” and wondering if her award was valued by the school.
Similarly, another participant reported receiving an email from their manager that was addressed to all employees regarding sales targets. The respondent interpreted the manager as angry with their individual performance, which was confusing as they had exceeded their personal quota.
The paper also reminds us that the demographics of the person sending the email also matter. The study found that younger emailers were more likely to view emails as negative than their older colleagues. Similarly, older emailers tend to write longer messages than their younger colleagues.
The relationship between both parties is also important. When a sender and recipient have a strong understanding, misinterpretations of messages are far less likely.
Related Article: Why Are We Still Emailing if We're Using Microsoft Teams?
Steps to Improve Email Communication
So what can managers do to ensure that email communication is effective? As with most things, the first thing is to raise awareness of the potential for emails to foster misunderstanding. Too often we're confident that our message is coming across loud and clear.
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Another useful approach is to make it OK for people to ask questions if they're unsure what an email means, whether in terms of its content or even its tone. The idea should be to encourage understanding as much as possible.
The flip side of this is to not assume that you know what the tone of an email is. If it appears somewhat abrupt or angry, try to find out if that's really the case rather than jumping to conclusions and taking offense.
Last, but by no means least, make use of our rich language to convey emotion. We can rely on emoticons as a crutch to display how we feel, when plenty of words can do the same job. Use them.
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