E-mail is old hat for most law students, and by now, most of us professors have caught up too. Here's the thing: we often focus on what we are saying rather than how we are saying...er, how what we are saying is communicated. For the former, we have books to help you . But you might want to consider your communication style as well. The software company WordRake has a wonderful blog post series about e-mail communication, and one piece of information is particularly startling: “People consistently overestimate their ability to communicate effectively with email.” A 2010 study found that “participants lied 50% more when they negotiated over email compared with pen-and-paper.” One of the reasons, surmised researchers: “Emails are less permanent: it feels closer to chatting than writing a letter.” What's an e-mailer to do? Your best bet is to think before you hit the send button. Save a draft of your e-mail and revisit it in an hour or two. This approach might increase
Legal information and research resources from The Ohio State University's Michael E. Moritz Law Library