Efficient Communication

Electronic mail, or email as it is mostly known as, is one of the most effective means of communication in today’s digital age. It has many advantages that outweigh its single disadvantage, that being, for one to use an email as a means of communication; he or she must be computer literate. Its’ advantages include; faster and safer means of communication, immediate feedback is attainable, environmentally friendly since does not require the use of paper, and cost-effective for businesses since it is offered for free. According to Email Reporting Statistics (an online email statistical website) states that 247 billion emails are sent each day, keeping in my mind all the advantages and disadvantages stated above.
The only drawback of emails is tone recognition. As stated by Stephen Leahy in his article, “I’ve only a 50-50 chance of ascertaining the tone of any email message.” Therefore, we can clearly state that most of the times receivers of emails misinterpret the message completely due to the vague nature of its tone. He also states that, receivers of such emails translate the message based on their prevailing mood, which is driven by stereotypes and expectations, whereas senders of email encode their messages by using the tone they ‘hear’ in their heads, meaning they do not take the audience approach into account. I agree with Stephen Leahy’s pronouncement that email is very easy to misinterpret.
Audience centered approach in communication is core in decoding messages convincingly. This approach enables writers to centralize their messages specifically on their audience. In so doing, it enables the reader to understand the message in the form that it was meant to be conveyed. Stephen Leahy illustrates in his article that according to Nancy Flynn, “People write absolutely, incredibly stupid things in company emails.” This means that writers of emails do not pay attention to whom they are writing to, and this gives rise to emails that are meaningless.
In writing an effective email one should keep the following in mind; always have a clear subject line from the start, never deal with many topics of discussion in one email, respect and kindness are key in getting an effective feedback, and always proofread your messages before sending it. The above tools will help in decoding emails correctly.