Insert Foot in Mouth...

Is it a man or a woman? Because I dont think men think too much into stuff like that. If you feel bad you could just send him/her another email saying you really appreciate their help and it would mean a lot. Without looking like a nut. ;)

You probably have nothing to worry about since it is a man, but it might be nice to just say, gosh, I just re-read my e-mail and it didn't come across the way I intended.....how I meant to say it was.......

Well - if he's a friend of yours, he knows your quirks... so I"d not worry to much.

Don't worry - just send a quick email saying oops I was in a rush - hope I didn't sound too rude :) I just really wanted to get the ball rolling and help Rob become a LEO and you are such a great friend, I wasn't thinking as I typed. Sorry :(

BTW Tell Rob good luck and hopefully we will be welcoming you to the wonderful world of LEO wives :)

a good lil trick is to type the email but don't add in the email address until you have read it.... then only after you are comfortable with what you wrote should you add the address. It's just too easy to hit send , especially IF you are in a hurry... Try my lil trick and you'll see how helpful it is..

good luck

I do this all the time...since I'm not very sucessful at it..I'd love to hear some of the responses.

If it were me...I might follow up with an email shortly and keep it very lighthearted..

"sorry I just re-read my email...I didn't mean to come off so bossy. Please don't feel like I'm ordering you to do it. I'm so excited about this, I lost my sense of manners." then I would probably re-word some of the request to come off more polite.

Good Luck and I'm looking forward to reading others advice!!

Follow up with a quick email appologizing for sounding rude since it was meant to be anything but rude. Then mention how excited you are to receive the info and how you value his judgement.

It's better to send a note than have him think other wise.

I had an assistant once who was the sweetest, most quiet girl. But when she wrote emails they were wordd so mean. It was funny!

Email is a hard tool to use for communication because the person isn't right there and it is faster than writing a letter. Not personal and fast can be a good or bad combination depending on the circumstances. A.L. has a good suggestion. The more important it is, or emotionally charged the issue is (some shouldn't be dealt with in email at all) the longer you wait.

If it were me I'd probably follow up with an email apologizing for my shortness. I think I've had to do that before ;-)

I used to do this often. I know it seems funny, but I agree. Why do we re-read it AFTER we send it? I have trained the brain to read it before I hit the send button now. I used to send emails after the fact that said something along the lines of,

Wow just re-read that and it didn't come across the way I wanted it too. Sorry, what I meant was....

For emails; type then save. Come back to it in an hour or two and if it looks ok, then send it. I tend to have type-rage, lol, particularly at work. I've gotten in the habit of typing out any important email, or potentially confrontational email, and letting it sit - then going back to re-read and edit before I send.

With regards to speaking, can't help you there, I am famous for blurting out what I'm thinking. My Mom's favorite saying to me growing up was "Girl, you have no tact!"

Piggyback it with apologizing and rewording. "I just reread my email to you, and..."

He's your good friend, so it will be fine.

Updated

Piggyback it with apologizing and rewording. "I just reread my email to you, and..."

He's your good friend, so it will be fine.

Speaking is a tougher one to control, but for an email, how about writing it, saving it in your drafts folder, then sometime later (10 min, an hour, whatever works) go back and re-read and make necessary changes before hitting send. Or if you still don't trust yourself to accurately assess the email, maybe if you can send it to your husband or a close friend and have them read it first, they might be able to guide you regarding wording and tone.
I always try to avoid sarcasm, hyperbole, or any other tones that can be hard to pick up on in writing; emoticons can help (when appropriate of course) but I think it is best to avoid situations that are likely going to lead to miscommunication. As for your current situation, it is hard to know for sure since I can't read the email. If he is not offended and does what you "demanded" make sure you send him an email, or even a real Thank You note via snail mail, letting him know just how much you appreciate his help.

Im sure its not the worst he has seen and sending another email saying "sorry for the poor wording" only brings it to his attention. Probably he wont even notice, or he wont even be the one reading it. Some assistant may, so dont worry about it. Just be sure when you hear back ..in any follow-up letters to do better. Those he may very well see. And if he is a good friend and does read it himself, he should know you enough to not think about it. How cool to be looking into this line of carreer. My son is still talking about it. He has 18 months left before hes too old to apply. For now he has a great job as a federal corrections officer. Loves it!

I'm with Scarlett all the way. I've learned to re-read pretty much everything I type before hitting the send button. Some spell check stuff still gets by once in a while, but the overall tone of an email (or even a post, ha!) can almost always be corrected before hand.

Hmmm. Hard to say without reading it, but I would probably follow up with a "I just re-read what I sent and I realize I forgot to tell you how much appreciated your assistance would be. Hope all is well with you" - or something along those lines. Be honest - tell him what you told us here. It certainly cannot hurt. Regarding something like this, I would always err on the side of being too polite.

If you could think of something else to add, such as "I forgot to ask...." or, I forgot to tell you "....", that could help!

Id say wait for his reply. If he helps, thank him very graciously, and if he declines, tell him how much you appreciate the thought.

oooh girl!!! You know how I can be!!! I just SAY it and not use my filter first...

it's okay...write back and say - YIKES!! Came out all wrong...apologize and move on!!

YOU ARE GREAT!!! You are good!!

If Rob wants a police job - the Fairfax County police are the highest paid in the state of VA!!!

If he's a good friend he'll hear your voice in the email and know "its just your way" to speak like that. I wouldnt worry bout it.