Why can a message seem clearer to its sender than its listener?
A sarcastic sentence may sound unmistakable in the writer’s head and completely sincere to its reader. In experiments comparing email with voice, people did not fully anticipate how much the missing tone would affect understanding.
Questions you could explore
- Which parts of your intended meaning are actually available to the other person?
- How could a sender overestimate the tone or context carried by the words in a message?
Start reading
- Kruger, Epley, Parker and Ng / Journal of Personality and Social PsychologyEgocentrism Over E-Mail: Can We Communicate as Well as We Think?
The 2005 study compares predicted and actual recognition of sarcasm in email and recorded speech. Its defined task makes a sender’s confidence testable without treating all communication failures as the same problem.
Ready to try your ideas aloud?
Your topic carries over. Record up to 2½ minutes, depending on your plan.