More polite emails
It’s hard to know sometimes if you’re striking the right tone when writing an email. The same institution that revolutionized online communication with the emoticon now has something to help with that, too.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Language Technologies Institute have created a dataset and model that could automatically make your emails more polite. Given the state of the country, it probably couldn’t have come at a better time.
The set can perform many different alterations, from restructuring a demand to a question to adding the word “please.” For example, instead of saying “do this spreadsheet,” the dataset could change the phrasing to “let us do this spreadsheet.”
Hopefully, other researchers and developers will find ways to incorporate it into applications soon.
People are sending more emails now than ever before, whether while working remotely or trying to keep in touch with friends and relatives. Close to 76% of Americans use email, according to the data analysis group 99firms.
A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 76% of Americans also believe that their fellow citizens have become more rude and less civilized. These trends indicate that a little help with communicating more nicely online could go a long way.
Researchers have long analyzed why emails can be tough to read. Naomi Baron, a linguistics professor at American University and author of “Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World,” says people are so comfortable with online messaging that it’s sometimes easy to forget if we’re being clear and conveying our intentions properly.
Emails can be misconstrued in the best of times, with recipients judging meaning based on words alone in the absence of facial expressions, voice and body language. Several tools already exist that make it easier to write politely. The CMU dataset takes it a step further and adjusts the definition of politeness based on elements such as the age of correspondents, types of requests and relationships.
Now more than ever, tone matters. This new tool may seem like a lighthearted technological stunt at first glance, but don’t discount what exchanging more polite words online could do to improve civility in our society.