Business E-mail Bullies

A site visitor writes:

Could you please evaluate this message. The person that sends this states it means nothing to have the ???, !!! and cap letters, but he continues to do it.

John:
Please send the updated spreadsheet for this project????????
Send this document – NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first sentence doesn’t even warrant one question mark let alone multiple instances. If having multiple exclamation points or questions marks “means nothing”, then why he is communicating in this manner? The fact is doing so does reflect tone — that of one making a strong demand!

There are many folks who refuse to realize the power of their written words, the corresponding punctuation and the ramifications of how they choose to use them. This certainly does not mean that the perceptions they are presenting, or the emotions they are insinuating are not there. They are!

Your associate is either simply showing their lack of online savvy or they know exactly how they are being perceived and do not have the nerve to admit it when confronted. By typing in caps, and by using !!!! or ??? he is typing to you with an overly aggressive and condescending tone. He comes off as a bully and not very professional. If that is what he meant, fine. If not, basic punctuation would have sufficed.

Using multiple exclamation points or question marks is covered on my day-to-day E-mail Etiquette site:

http://www.netmanners.com/courtesy3.html

I also cover formatting, capping and punctuation issues from a business POV here on this site.

One of the top skills in any successful business career is to be able to communicate with professionalism, courtesy and clarity. Redundant punctuation and yelling at recipients is the sign of an amateur bully.

Some More Info for You:

1. E-mails Should Not be Manifestos
2. E-mail Requires You Build Your Vocabulary
3. In Business E-mail Tone is Everything!
4. Dos and Don’ts of Business Signature File Use
5. Seeing Red in Business E-mails