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The world of commerce may be driven by the technological revolution, but at its core, business is about people. You don’t sign a contract with a computer and as much as you connect with the Internet to keep in touch with clients – it can’t compare with connecting with a person as you break bread eyeball to eyeball.

Don’t misunderstand me, email is wonderfully efficient and absolutely has its place, but it can’t be the end all and be all as a means of communication. Even the most hardened business people appreciate a genuine smile, hearty laugh or well executed joke. Strong, healthy relationships with employees, clients or vendors are built upon time well spent talking, connecting and building trust.

One of the most challenging things about email is that people interpret things differently, based upon a variety of factors; background, ideology, culture or mood.  Think back to the last heated department or company meeting that you participated in. Just imagine that you presented an idea and one of your colleagues came back with an impassioned ‘I completely disagree.’  That statement could easily be interpreted as condescending or patronizing but when you hear the tone and see the expression; you evaluate his/her non-verbal communication and determine that in fact, it was neither, but just a general intellectual disagreement on principle.

The problem with email is that the reader doesn’t have those non-verbal clues available and so they make their judgments based solely on the text.  And, their interpretation is directly influenced by their mood.

Let’s say, that that same comment was sent via email from a vendor to its client. Unbeknownst to the sender, the recipient was just reamed out by their boss five minutes before for not agreeing with this person’s decision on a completely unrelated issue.

Now, he/she opens up this email and it is reiterating exactly what his boss just said, except this is a different issue and its coming from a vendor. He/she now finds this email condescending and is insulted and as a result, won’t return calls to the sender. The intention was genuine, but now the client is pissed and it had less to do with the email and more to do with the exchange that happened five minutes before the email came. 

Had this person picked up the phone and called this individual and spoken with them directly hearing his/her mood and inevitably being told about the exchange, as so often happens, the caller never would have chosen the words “I completely disagree” they might have said “I have some concerns about something and want your opinion” – thus positioning the concern in a new light, with a question mark at the end, while at the same time showing confidence in this person by asking ‘their opinion.’

Conversely, nothing beats a hearty pat on the back or handshake while looking into someone’s eyes and saying “Great Job.” Don’t relegate congratulations to an email – whenever and wherever possible congratulate in person eyeball to eyeball!

If you have a question for the Maniacal Marketer, please send it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Christine Regan is the president of Redlake, Inc, www.redlake.tv, a marketing and sales agency in New York

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