Granted, the advent of email may have brought about a certain lack-a-daisyness with regards to the traditional etiquette of correspondence. Indeed, one might deplore the carelessness with which punctuation is oft handled (Though I’ve been guilty of that very crime myself, I highly recommend the brilliant and hilarious “Eats, shoots and leaves”– you might surprise yourself with the pique, passion and peals of laughter you’ll echo at the plight of ill-used quotation marks.)

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But email did carry a delightful chance on its wings: that of translating the feeling of conversation to written communication. Which is why I’m always surprised when someone I’ve just met, who made a great first impression, follows up with an email so stiff, so very different from the tone  of the conversation we’ve just had! Why throw cold water on an excellent initial feeling? Write as you would speak to the person if they were sitting right across from you–with the same warmth and ease, letting the words flow.