Daniel Goleman, the author of “Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships” is interviewed in a New York Times article, E-Mail Is Easy to Write (and to Misread) which says that: “e-mail generally increases the likelihood of conflict and miscommunication.

One reason for this is that we tend to misinterpret positive e-mail messages as more neutral, and neutral ones as more negative, than the sender intended. Even jokes are rated as less funny by recipients than by senders.”

Although emoticons are usually frowned on in business email, perhaps you should include them, if there’s any chance that a recipient may not understand your tone.

[tags]email, writing, business[/tags]

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