On May 15, 2006, at 10:00 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
from: Carlberg Jones <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
subject: RE: [Hornlist] horn advice
Greetings -
There's an article in the Christian Science Monitor today on e-mails
- http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0515/p13s01-stct.html - which I found
interesting.
" . . . First and foremost, e-mail lacks cues like facial expression
and tone of voice. That makes it difficult for recipients to decode
meaning well. . . . "
I'm always wondering why writing and understanding e-mails is thought
to be difficult. After all, most of us read books and we have a
reasonable understanding of what the author means, even though we
generally don't communicate with him.
Carlberg
Hey Carlberg,
This is a great article that everyone should read. Thanks for posting
it. How much energy do we waste every day trying to respond to posts
that are not well thought out and manage to convey something on the
order of the opposite of what the poster may have intended,
especially when it comes to tone?
I think email has led to a resurgence in writing- especially for
those of us who had pretty much given up on snail mail, a time
honored tradition. Think about how much we know about composers and
other historical figures based on their letters. Will our emails
serve the same purpose to historians in the future?
The problem is that writing skills have deteriorated over the years,
especially in our educational system, and the visual mediums have
become the de-facto standard. Yikes!! Look at the verbal expression
on TV and the movies nowadays. The internet increases the possibility
of communication, especially over long distances and across cultures,
but our communication skills seem to be diminishing. The ability to
just post anything that comes to mind without regard to the
consequences makes for a lot of meaningless and often mean-spirited
exchanges.
There is a skill to writing emails. I have definitely tried to hone
my skills after realizing that much of what I say is very dependent
on my delivery, one that is based on human interaction and subtle
nuances, not on the impersonal, virtual reality of cyberspace.
I hope people will look over their emails more closely before sending
them, especially in regard to tone. Would you like someone to speak
with you that way? Would you speak the same way if you were there in
person, perhaps even in a group of people?
When my symphony went under I did some substituting in the public
schools for a while so I'm pretty sure things are going to get worse
before they get better.
Anyway, everyone have a great day.
Sincerely,
Wendell Rider
For information about my book, "Real World Horn Playing" and the
summer seminar, go to my website: www.wendellworld.com
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