Don’t Call Me Liz – A Cautionary Tale About EMail Anger

Anyone who uses email on a regular basis (or like me, depends on it as I do oxygen & water), has had the experience of being misunderstood in a message. I try to take the time whenever possible to carefully craft my wording so I am not only understood clearly, but also understood in the correct emotional context.  In that effort, I’m very guilty of being a profligate user of emoticons (they work) despite the fact that they can be annoying and sometimes, a bit juvenile.  ;-P

I’m guessing emoticons may not have helped Elizabeth Becton. Elizabeth (and you had better call her ELIZABETH) is an Administrative Assistant to Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA).  When she received a scheduling request via email, well…  watch the video and decide for yourself what went wrong. Be sure to watch the whole 6 mins… it doesn’t end the way you might expect.

As for the legislative assistant and accidental celebrity Elizabeth Becton, I hope she gets a day at the spa or some other stress management strategy… and soon.  If you want to stay in the loop on this evolving story, you can join the Elizabeth Becton Fan Club on Facebook.