Stay Away from Sarcasm in Email

Sarcasm should be avoided in email because you leave the level of sarcasm to be implied by the recipient. That’s risky at best! Being sarcasm is rarely a positive thing, unless you are a skilled and experienced communicator it is best left out of your emails…

sar·casm n.

1. A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound.
2. A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.

If you are not careful, that sarcasm can be amplified by a power of 10! See, based on the situation and the emotions involved, the recipient may very well read into your sarcasm meaning that you did not intend or much more than you intended.

Remember when joking with sarcasm you need to include a ;-) to ensure the other side knows you are kidding. Otherwise, you may be taken seriously. Many who resort to sarcasm forget these 3 little keystrokes that can prevent many a misunderstanding!

In professional communications, sarcasm should be completely avoided. I’ve yet to see a situation where using sarcasm enhanced a situation. Instead it “rubbed salt in the wounds.” There is no place for that in business.

In a personal e-mail, sarcasm can harm relationships and make further communications ineffective. What’s the point of using sarcasm but to cause problems and hurt feelings?

If you find you are being sarcastic in an email, maybe it’s best you wait until the next day to see if you feel the same, or if your sense of humor is something that will be appreciated by the other side.

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