Curt emails

[deleted263296]

Do you ever get a bad feeling from attendings/residents emails when they use curt writing styles? I guess I worry too much about how I come across in emails and try to make them sound upbeat and friendly. Sometimes once I've met the attendings or residents in person, they are very friendly and their personalities don't match their email style. I was just wondering if you think about the unwritten communication in emails?

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[jdh71]

Do you ever get a bad feeling from attendings/residents emails when they use curt writing styles? I guess I worry too much about how I come across in emails and try to make them sound upbeat and friendly. Sometimes once I've met the attendings or residents in person, they are very friendly and their personalities don't match their email style. I was just wondering if you think about the unwritten communication in emails?

Are you looking for exclamation points, smiley faces, and lol-speak?

 

[deleted263296]

Are you looking for exclamation points, smiley faces, and lol-speak?

Haha, no, but that would be awesome if someone actually sent an email in lol-speak.

 

[jdh71]

Haha, no, but that would be awesome if someone actually sent an email in lol-speak.

I think when you don't know someone, especially when dealing with students, the impetus is to be "to the point". It can come off as short and curt, but it's better that than to appear "overly friendly/acquainted" or unprofessional.

 

[Torr]

Especially with busier people, it's so much more efficient to use curt and to the point emails. Say what you have to say and move on rather than worry about how to start,end and making small talk.

It throws me off sometimes too when emails seem especially cold or inexpressive but you just have to get used to it. In fact, learn to use it yourself. It makes things simpler when everyone is comfortable communicating that way.

I do, however, use smileys in about 80% of my work emails with younger students. It makes me more approachable .

 

[TheMan21]

Yeah I sent my PI (haven't actually worked her yet) a long-ish email and her reply was pretty curt. I sent her a couple more on Thursday concerning a protocol she wanted completed by Friday. She didn't answer, and I couldn't complete the protocol. I wonder if she's busy or if she just thinks med students are ******s. Oh well, I'll find out tomorrow.

 

[bucks2010]

heck, I get curt on this forum when I come online after a 12 hr shift. Sometimes, at that point I'm too tired to care about sounding nice. I bet what you're seeing results from a large volume of e-mails that the attendings/residents have to get through in as short a time as possible, in the midst of a busy day. I wouldn't take it personally.

 

[officedepot]

I do, however, use smileys in about 80% of my work emails with younger students. It makes me more approachable .

Stuff like that makes a difference in how students react to attendings/residents and how they will act on the service. It is much appreciated and I wish more people would at least try to sound friendly.

OP, I agree it is annoying, especially if you don't know the person. I never do it unless I am emailing an attending/resident/higher level individual for the first time to see how they respond. However, I think it is a product of us being too sensitive and not knowing the person we are emailing well enough. Regardless it doesn't take a long time to at least sound friendly in an email or text message and I think people who don't do it on purpose because we are students, they are the boss (even though we pay them in a sense?), and they don't care. I only see it in certain fields by the way so not everyone is so "mean" haha...

 

[ruiner]

One particular administrative person at my school always ends every e-mail with ellipsis (...). I find it very rude.

 

[Go Ducks]

I think it could be partially a generational thing. Older people tend to see email more as a way to impart information quickly and less as interpersonal communication.

 

[Hemichordate]

.

 

[Longshanks]

One particular administrative person at my school always ends every e-mail with ellipsis (...). I find it very rude.

I don't get when people finish statements with these or e-mails. Do they not know what they mean? Hello, there - is there a continuation to your thought at all? Will you get back to me after you pause? Do you feel apprehensive about my original e-mail?

 

[Law2Doc]

Do you ever get a bad feeling from attendings/residents emails when they use curt writing styles? I guess I worry too much about how I come across in emails and try to make them sound upbeat and friendly. Sometimes once I've met the attendings or residents in person, they are very friendly and their personalities don't match their email style. I was just wondering if you think about the unwritten communication in emails?

Bear in mind that with the emergence of smart phones, more and more people are responding to emails on the fly, while doing other things, not sitting at a desk composing literature. If a one word "thanks" imparts the notion that they have the email and will get to it in due course, then that's a reasonable reply. Expect more of this in the future, and not only from arttendings

 

[CatFactorial]

Bear in mind that with the emergence of smart phones, more and more people are responding to emails on the fly, while doing other things, not sitting at a desk composing literature. If a one word "thanks" imparts the notion that they have the email and will get to it in due course, then that's a reasonable reply. Expect more of this in the future, and not only from arttendings

Right.

 

[surftheiop]

this was something that actually bothered me a little bit when I started doing research with MD's, they would give me like 3 word email responses and I was concerned this meant they thought I was really annoying or something. In truth they really liked me and wrote really good and thorough recommendation letters later on, so I think the shortness of email responses is purely a time saver on their part and doesn't mean to show that they think any less of you.

And I agree with the poster above, down the road if I'm ever emailing with a pre-med or medstudent, I'll give them the extra 20 seconds to write a full sentence because they are probably scared I don't think they are worth communicating with.

 

[Longshanks]

Bear in mind that with the emergence of smart phones, more and more people are responding to emails on the fly, while doing other things, not sitting at a desk composing literature. If a one word "thanks" imparts the notion that they have the email and will get to it in due course, then that's a reasonable reply. Expect more of this in the future, and not only from arttendings

I agree, however if one is using a smartphone then they should add in a line in their signature it was sent from a mobile device, just for courtesy and understanding to the recipient.

 

[jdh71]

I agree, however if one is using a smartphone then they should add in a line in their signature it was sent from a mobile device, just for courtesy and understanding to the recipient.

Huh? I think that's stupid. Why is it "courteous" for me to let you know a message is from my phone. You contacted me and I responded. You have the important and pertinent information. Why exactly do you think you should expect anything else?

 

[CaptainSSO]

Huh? I think that's stupid. Why is it "courteous" for me to let you know a message is from my phone. You contacted me and I responded. You have the important and pertinent information. Why exactly do you think you should expect anything else?

A lot of phones do this automatically. When I send an e-mail from my Blackberry, at the end of the text is says "Sent via Blackberry by AT&T." Iphones do the same thing. I bet he's seen these signatures before and thinks people add them in themselves, as a courtesy.

 

[CaptainSSO]

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[Longshanks]

Huh? I think that's stupid. Why is it "courteous" for me to let you know a message is from my phone. You contacted me and I responded. You have the important and pertinent information. Why exactly do you think you should expect anything else?

As the poster above pointed out, most devices do this automatically. The point is so the recipient understands why they may not received a detailed reply. I've heard/seen this suggested in other fields recently as professional etiquette. It can be frustrating or confusing for someone if they send a thorough email and receive a one sentence, or more often a broken phrase for a reply, especially if it doesn't sufficiently answer whatever question or issue was raised.

I bet he's seen these signatures before and thinks people add them in themselves, as a courtesy.

Really, you assume I'm just a fool and don't realize smart phones do this on their own? BlackBerry's do this on their own, but you can edit this on the iPhone or disable it.

I never thought of it as much of an issue, or courtesy, before until a discussion I heard on NPR and subsequently seen it mentioned by others. With mobile devices, everyone expects to be in constant contact, but with that people can tend to be curt when using one, either because they're quickly going through emails or it's more time consuming to type out a full reply on a phone. So just having one line saying it was sent from a phone should make someone more understanding that your response was brief. And there's nothing wrong with a brief response, just some may interpret it wrong if it was a more formal discussion. Since most phones do this by default, no big foul done and no added effort on your part.

 

[235009]

same applies for MDs i've found

 

[Mattchiavelli]

same applies for MDs i've found

LOVE IT! My best friend studies communications and we've had talks before about how electronic communication decontextualizes a lot and can strip communication of a lot of the non-written-language cues that modify what people are trying to get across in email/text/etc. Studies also show that people in different generations relate to electronic communication differently.

 

[PinkIvy08]

Am I the only one who's found that their own emails to classmates are getting more and more curt every month? I just don't have time for flowery language anymore and assume others recognize that and feel the same time pressure with the ridiculous amount of email flooding our accounts. I get my message across efficiently

 

[Hurricane95]

True. it happens, we answer only as necessary.

why write more.

it wastes time.

 

[ruiner]

I don't get when people finish statements with these or e-mails. Do they not know what they mean? Hello, there - is there a continuation to your thought at all? Will you get back to me after you pause? Do you feel apprehensive about my original e-mail?

Yeah it drives me crazy. I don't mind short answers and all that but the added ... has implications.