Communication really has come a long way. It began with cave writings, slowly evolved, and then came telegrams. These could take almost weeks to be delivered. After this, we developed a mailing system, which still took it's time to get to it's recipient. Now, we have instant communication. It can take less than a second for your message to be sent and received. This is where our culture faces a problem.
Imagine this scenario. Layla is in a dead end job. She is underpaid and underutylized. She went to a prestigious college, but due to the economy she had to settle for a desk job. Layla's first wedding anniversary is this weekend, and she made sure to tell her boss she could not work on the recent project that is due for a big client. One of the employees (who is higher up in status then Layla) that was supposed to work on this project, bailed. Layla is called in to work.
Being in a very emotional state, Layla decides to send an extremely heated email to her boss. She says many things she would NEVER say in person, but the technological barrier breaks her filter. After six or seven very profound comments about her boss, including a suggestion about Layla leaving the company, Layla quickly presses send. At this point, Layla realizes what she had done.
The next week in the office, Layla was fired.
This situation happens much more than you would think. This almost happened to the woman in the podcast. She was going to send an angry letter, but recollected herself, and reevaluated her letter. This is one advantage of letters. Once you cool down and realize it is not as big of a deal as you thought it was, you can take it back, and rewrite it. One man, Michael Hyatt, tells his story of a 14 page long email he sent to a business associate. They had argued about something, and Hyatt was very frustrated. Looking back on his angry email, Hyatt feels shames. He states, "As long as we have to deal with people, we are going to be disappointed, get frustrated, and react in anger. But we have to know how to channel these emotions in productive ways. Sending an e-mail or writing a letter is almost never the appropriate or most effective way. If you get angry, resist the temptation to respond in anger".
The ability to send emails so quickly can get you in a lot of trouble if you do not think about what you are saying. The "send" button can be your friend or your enemy. It may seem like writing the email will make you feel better, but in reality only damage can be done. Be careful.
Hyatt, Michael. "Stop: Don’t Send That Angry E-mail!" Michael Hyatt's Blog. International Leadership, 6 Sept. 2007. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://michaelhyatt.com/stop-don’t-send-that-angry-e-mail.html>.
Cat,
ReplyDeleteI really like the scenario that you used. It really brought the subject of angry emails down to earth. I find it really interesting that people will say things through technology that they would never say in person. I also really like your introdruction. It really caught my attention and made me want to continue reading the rest of your blog. Good job!
I thought your post was really creative. I feel that everyone needs to watch out for what they write in emails. Especially if one is very angry and decides to write a heated email without giving themselves time to cool down. Writing a letter definitely gives that person more time to think about what they wrote. They have the chance to rewrite the letter if necessary; but with an email, once they click that send button they cannot take it back. Like Hyatt stated, "If you get angry, resist the temptation to respond in anger." Everyone needs time to cool down so they can recollect themselves and avoid angry emails.
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