A straightforward work email becomes a careful exercise in sounding exactly right. You add warmth, remove it, soften the request and reread every line, trying to prevent a neutral message from being interpreted as cold or confrontational.
- adding and deleting an exclamation mark several times
- spending twenty minutes on a two-sentence reminder
- changing 'I need' to 'would it be possible' and then worrying it sounds vague
- asking someone else whether the message feels friendly enough
Looks vs reality
The same Experience can look very different from the outside than it feels on the inside.
Lazy. Just send the email already!
Calculating the exact number of exclamation points to convey enthusiasm without seeming manic.
Overthinking it. It's just an email!
Rehearsing every possible negative interpretation the recipient could have.
So dramatic. What's the big deal?
Trying to prevent a communication meltdown by preemptively soothing every potential trigger.
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