As a communication medium, email is very limited, and the problems it can cause are virtually unlimited. Email lacks many important components of effective communication, such as body language, tone, volume, pace of delivery, and ongoing feedback. As a result, it is easy for people to misinterpret, misperceive, and miss the point of what you are trying to convey.
On the one hand, if you are sending data, technical information, or facts and figures, email can be relatively effective. However, if your message includes feelings, emotions, or evaluative thoughts, it is common for a receiver to misunderstand what you are saying and view your comments as adversarial. And there does not have to be any particular problem rattling around in his or her head for this to occur.
Take a look at the messages you are sending and remember that using the phone or brief in-person meetings can actually be faster than email, since you are less likely to experience these communication breakdowns. Your employee should follow this same advice, since his email back to you only exacerbated the problem.
When it comes to email, if a message can be misinterpreted, it will be misinterpreted.
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