Emails and politeness

I am on a one woman mission!

The trouble with emails is that they are short! To the point! Direct! Curt! and (dare I say it) sometimes downright discourteous.

We have all done it - shot from the hip in response to something we have seen or heard that we want to upbraid or challenge someone about. MY ADVICE - write your email and DO NOT in any circumstances send it. After an hour, read it again and then see how it comes across. Did you mean it to sound like that? Do you need to soften it? Would a "Dear X" at the top and a "Thanks" at the bottom help? Then question whether you are actually emailing the right person - messengers are not there for shooting.

If you are satisfied on all those points - go for it.

Actually the same advice goes for letters, phone messages and direct conversation - hard messages can be softened and made more palatable if delivered in a measured and reasonable way.

We all do it, don't we? Some more than others. Well, let's do less of it from now on and then life would be so much more pleasant. It's what we tell our Brownies.