Jokey emails
I make jokes in email, almost to a fault, without thinking. Just now I asked myself why I do this. Here’s what I’ve come up with, for future ref:
The default tone conveyed by the email format is business efficiency. Business-speak is impersonal and humorless, and any message conveyed neutrally comes off by default as grumpy.
As an empathetic person who, by default, assumes that my friends are mad at me, I hate putting people on the receiving end of grumpy. And I am not a businessman. But if the alternative to humor is LOLspeak or manic flow of exclamation points, then F that.
So, in case you’re ever annoyed by the liberal use of humor peppered throughout my email, consider the alternative. It’s because I like you and want you not to hate me.
——————
Adam Lisagor
Vice President of Affairs
adamlisagor.com
IM: adlisagor
FAX: (413) 647-0735
