An Email Get Taken the Wrong Way

"Who gave you the permission to send that?"

This is the sentence I received from a project manager after I sent out a poorly worded email to our customer base.

Look closely at the words.

Given the context, anyone would assume it was meant to be sarcastic and accusatory.

In that case, the word 'you' would carry emphasis.

However, upon further inspection, I learnt this person intended to merely ask about user permissions of the marketing software.

This wasn't a jab. It was a plain question.

That's a challenge with written mediums like email, especially if the sender isn't that articulate.

It tends to be tone-deaf.

It simply misses out on the nuanced inflexions in spoken language that helps one understand urgency, emphasis, sarcasm, gravity etc.

Therefore, if you feel that your email might run someone the wrong way, a quick call might be a better option.