> You can write the perfect email, and there will always be someone who will misinterpret it. The problem is not merely in the content, but in the other (includ

> You can write the perfect email, and there will always be someone who will misinterpret it. The problem is not merely in the content, but in the other (including their worldview, culture, social status, etc). Without a doubt the first sentence is true. Successful written communication requires properly encoding the information (writing) and properly decoding it (reading). A flawed reading of an email means communication breaks down independent of the quality of the writing. The second is also true, but incomplete. In many cases, there is a failure to read (either because of laziness or "I already know what he's going to say") or a language issue - even for native English speakers. It's not at all uncommon for someone to miss a "not", think "and" rather than "or", interpret "weeks" as "days" and so on. Edit: One story that comes to mind is related to a policy our department was implementing a number of years ago. I sent an email with what I thought was minor supporting information. I got an angry reply of six paragraphs, totally irate that I would suggest something so crazy, listing all the ways I was wrong. I responded to say "I think you read my first sentence wrong." The response: "Oops!"