3 Things to Avoid in Email Negotiations
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
After years of conducting my own negotiations - and coaching others through theirs - I’ve come to appreciate just how deceptively complex email negotiation can be. While it may feel more comfortable than a face-to-face discussion, it’s often far more difficult to get it right.
Here are three mistakes to watch for - and how to avoid them:
1. Believing it’s easier than face-to-face
It isn’t. In fact, negotiating over email can be significantly more challenging. Once a message is sent, it cannot be retracted or softened. You miss out on all the non-verbal cues - the tone of voice, body language, or hesitation - that help you adjust your message in real time. And while you might feel protected behind a screen, that false sense of security can lead to oversharing or unintended signals. Precision and care matter more in writing than they do in conversation.
2. Writing and sending too quickly
Let the ink dry. It’s tempting to dash off a response and hit 'send,' especially in a high-stakes moment. Don’t. Write your message, then step away. Revisit it the next day. You may find that your tone needs softening, your structure tightening - or that a different communication channel would be wiser altogether.
3. Using humour
Avoid it. Humour rarely lands well in writing, especially when discussing serious or potentially contentious topics. A light-hearted remark can easily be misinterpreted, come across as flippant, or undermine your credibility. Unless you know the other party extremely well - and even then - it’s best to save the jokes for a call or face-to-face meeting.
Bonus tip:
Whatever tone you’ve written - make it one level friendlier. Written communication, particularly in negotiation, often reads colder or more adversarial than intended. A small adjustment in tone can go a long way in preserving goodwill and encouraging a productive response.