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E-Mail Tip #22 Use the Vernacular with Caution

Guest post by: Robert Whipple

Article Overview: E-mail is considered by some to be an informal form of communication where we can relax and use the same street language we use face to face. This is dangerous. This aricle shines some light on reasons to avoid this behavior.

E-Mail Tip #22 Use the Vernacular with Caution

The use of e-mail has become so ubiquitous that people often forget the permanent nature of this form of communication. While some words obviously should be avoided in any form of communication, often there is a form of locker room language that crops up in e-mails. When talking with a friend, you might say, "I'm pissed; that jerk scooped me again" after losing a political battle with a rival. This might be solid face-to-face communication between people who know each other well, but it can be dangerous in the uncontrolled world of e-mail. Since your friend, who is sympathetic to your cause, does not even recognize anything out of the ordinary in your language, he might forward your note to other individuals who are less familiar with you. Those people may also forward the original note with a preface to ignore the vulgar language. Finally, one of the recipients of that note might be a friend of your rival who will forward it to him with a note:

• "Congratulations, Ray. Looks like you got Bill to blow his cool online. I noted that his sarcastic and vulgar note was forwarded to just about everybody in the company. His e-mail makes him look bad and improves your chances for the promotion."

There is an easy rule of thumb when sending e-mails. Before pressing the "send" button, picture two people. First, picture your sweet old grandma, who never uttered a word of filth in her life. Second, picture a fictitious enemy who is out to hang you with your own words. This person will take things out of context and pass them on to anyone who would be in a position to hurt you politically. If after thinking about these two people, you are convinced it is OK to send the note, you are most likely safe.

The same caution holds for acronyms that have a "ripe" meaning. For example, the familiar acronym for Laughing out Loud (LOL) gets the same message across as LMAO (laughing my a- off) but without the vulgar implication. If the reader "hears" the vulgar expression when reading your note, you might as well have stated it explicitly. The damage is the same. Remember, there is no place for salty language in permanently recorded communications. Save your swear words for the clubhouse and keep your e-mails free from inappropriate language.

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Article Tags: Email, Leadership, Trust, Vernacular, vulgar



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