Tongue Holding

I like these comments from Jane Goodall on the dangers of e-mail.

One of her main points: Be wary of responding too quickly. What appears to be a rude message may not have been an intentional slight. Most of us have sent an e-mail and then immediately wished we could haul it back.

Sam Rayburn, the late and great Speaker of the House of Representatives, once said, "The three most important words in the world are, 'Wait a minute.'"

We should wait more than a minute before responding to many e-mail messages. A good standard operating procedure is to delay considerably before replying to messages that upset or irritate. If you decide then to fire some volleys, you'll probably have a better aim.