Your comment brought another realization to light. You are right our underlying tone does come through which is why it is not a good idea to actually send a communication if you are angry or tense. You may work not to reflect that but when read with a cooler head you may realize that your true tone was conveyed. In speech we can mask it with inflection, and facial gestures. Thanks Andrew! I’ll be more careful now.

Fair point, Karen,

Even in writing, I feel that our underlying tone comes through somehow.

Not as much as in speech, but it does come through.

@Andrew, I have a dear friend who is Korean and she has taught me a few phrases. I was once her manager and when we worked in Korean areas of LA she would teach me to read the signs outside of the doctors’ offices – I loved that the words were pictures and it gives you a different appreciation for language. In whatever language we write we are creating pictures with our words. If we keep that in mind I believe that our intent (if not the exact words and phrases) will be apparent to our audience.

@Ulla, thank you for sharing that perspective. It’s interesting that we often feel more at home outside of our communities than within them. Like you Ulla, my online experience is deeply enriched by the global interactions. I treasure people like you, Alex, Joanna and Andrew and really often forget that you’re so far away.