Question

When you send out text messages and emails, do you ever proofread them? In what circumstances would you take the extra time to do so?

Please give an example

Answer 1

I can’t count the number of times in the heat of the moment I’ve sent off an email I didn’t proofread or forgot to add the attachment. One time I was severely chastised by a department head for neglecting an attachment—an over-reaction to be sure, but it was sloppy on my part. Since then I’ve tried to pay better attention.

I don’t think it really matters whether it’s email or any other kind of online communication; it pays to pay attention. In fact, most of the time I try to proofread my text and instant messages. I think it’s important not to let the immediacy of the medium dictate the quality of the conversation—and that includes text or instant messages via smart phone, Google chat, Skype, Twitter, Facebook or whatever the tool de jour might be.

Most of the messages we send are kept on a server somewhere so they can be retrieved—even if that’s not what we want. You don’t have to look very far to see cases where people’s careers have been destroyed by forgetting. General David Petraeus’ affair and subsequent resignation as Director of the CIA is only a recent example.

I have a friend who voiced her displeasure at the outcome of a meeting with her boss not too long ago on Facebook. It wasn’t many weeks after that before she was searching for a new job. She is a social media expert and should have known better than to publicly complain about the CEO on Facebook, but even social media experts forget sometimes too.

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