Read Like You Listen

Last week I had a major revelation at lunch with Maia Beatty.  We say all the time to “write like you talk” but we never deal with the other side. Which is Read Like You Listen.  Think about that for a moment. That is seriously powerful stuff!  Instead of reading an email in your own “voice” if you will, you need to read it in theirs.  Still not sure what I mean?  Let’s use an example.

A friend of mine sent an email to someone and said something sarcastic. It is difficult to be sarcastic in email but in her head, it was hilarious.  When it was received, the person took it at face value – in their head they weren’t being sarcastic. And the ensuing conversation was all kinds of trouble for no reason.  In fact, when I was shown the email I immediately pointed out the first person was being sarcastic and suddenly the receiver felt very foolish.  Her reason was she was busy and stressed at work when she read it, so she read it from her point of view – in her voice.

So what’s the point?  Well, when you read an email from someone you know, read it in their voice if you can.  It will help interpret things so much better.  If you don’t know the person, assume formality. There’s nothing worse than thinking someone is joking when they aren’t.  Awkward!   And when writing an email, keep in mind the person receiving it won’t start in your voice – they start in theirs.  So even if they know you well, they may not think about that right off.  Since I’ve had my revelation I have sent a couple emails with instructions at the top to read it as if I was saying it.  The feedback has been hilarious – people said the emails got much funnier because I am funny. I’m not even there!

What other tips do you have in our digital media world to help people avoid this kind of problem?