It’s a skill really. I don’t know how many times I do it weekly, but it’s quite frequently and today is yet another example. As the name hints at, I love Improv comedy. I’ve watched it for a decade live at a local theatre (on and off as life permits) and now I work there as the House Manager.
I’m taking classes they offer and trying to get better at it. I sat in on another class yesterday and had a realization of sorts, so when I got home late last night I emailed the teacher and shared them with her.
I normally do a fairly detailed edit and reread because I know I have this tendency to misphrase and generally f*ck up when I converse with people, and because it was 1am I didn’t and I sent the email out.
This morning I get a response back with a terse, “We’ll talk about this in person.” And I knew I had done it again.
I emailed back apologizing and trying to clear the air, but it’s just served to throw me out of my loop and sit heavily on the forefront of my mind.
I realize now how I should have phrased it. I phrased it as “Your class didn’t do this…” and it should have been, “What do you think about this…” sigh
I hate this feeling and I hate knowing that out there right now is a friend who I’ve managed to upset.
It sucks, but cheer up–among my friends “We’ll talk about this in person” is code for “Something tells me you meant to say something totally different, and I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt before I start to hate you for insulting me.”
I’d bet you can fix this without too much trouble. Good luck.
Thanks. And I know it will blow over, the topic was a minor one and she and I are on very good terms (not in any relationship sense, but just in general) so I hope it will blow over quickly.
Just celebrating another Foot in the Mouth notch on the belt.
I completely agree. When I say “We’ll talk about this in person”, what I really mean is, “I don’t want to defend myself at length, over email, because I don’t think you meant to say what you said.”
I wouldn’t worry.
You know, you could also just send out a correction. People do it at work all the time.
Ditto. “We’ll talk about it in person” almost always means “You stepped over the line here, but I like you and respect your opinion too much to smack you down over email.”
So, let her explain herself, and hopefully things will be clearer after that.
