By Ron Coates, 20 August 2004 15:45
NEWS Email often leads to misunderstandings, while face-to-face and phone communications are still quite popular, according to a government survey.
Over a quarter of men's email jokes fall flat and involve them in lengthy explanations due to 'crossed wires'.
Women aren't that far behind. One in five women admit their emailed jokes have confused their recipients, says a BMRB Omnibus survey for the Department of Trade and Industry.
Men appear to have worse timing than women. Twenty-six per cent of men and 13 per cent of women admit that bad timing in sending jokes has created difficulties.
In addition, one in five men say they've handled sensitive matters badly by email. Only 12 per cent of women found that they had made this mistake.
The 'trigger-finger problem' still has its place in the email world, the survey reveals. Just under 10 per cent of the 1,107 people surveyed admitted they - and presumably their recipients - had suffered confusion after sending an email to the wrong person. This data goes a long way towards explaining why people still use traditional methods of communication such as face-to-face meetings and the telephone.
The most frequent means of communication with colleagues is face-to-face, with 58 per cent of people claiming to use it, while 28 per cent prefer the phone. Communication with customers is carried out 42 per cent of the time through face-to-face encounters and 38 per cent by phone.
The survey was released by the Department of Trade and Industry just as the 1 October deadline approaches for all businesses to establish statutory minimum dismissal and disciplinary procedures.
Encouraging communication is a key issue for the department. In over a third of the 115,000 work dispute cases that hit Employment Tribunals, the individuals and managers involved have not discussed the case at all.
Comments
There are 3 comments. Join the discussion
1. Ramona Etter
Personaly, I find talking to people threw e-mail easyer then talking face-to-face. I have a way of expessing what i mean threw email. In face-to-face I have issues saying what I mean becuase I can't form it into sentences, yet if I have a keyboard infront of me and something to type within, I am able to express what I really mean.
This is an interesting (for lack of better word) topic, thank you for shairing it with us.
2. Fan of correct English
Ramona - Pay more attention in English lessons and then your emails may make more sense than your verbal communication, unlike currently. At the moment, your English usage in this last email wouldn't even secure you a job interview as a truck-stop table waitress.
3. anonymous
I agree. If we could all use spellcheck and proofreading, and if those using email were a little aware of grammar rules, it might make for more understanding recipients. Ramona, you have a little more time in high school, use it well, especially if you want to succeed in the real world.