I’ve decided I like email consultations. After learning a good deal about them and
even getting to work with a couple of them in class this past week, I’m feeling
pretty giddy about the prospect of doing a real one on my own. I’m not saying I necessarily like them better
than face-to-face appointments; let’s just call this a case of apples and
oranges.
So, one of
the things I especially like about asynchronous online consultations is the
chance it gives me to be alone with my thoughts. With on-the-spot dialogue, I have an
unfortunate tendency to put my foot in my mouth, come across not so eloquently,
and in some other way manage to mess up.
Thankfully, email appointments allow me to keep all of that in check,
and the result is a more polished, organized offering of feedback to the
writer.
That being
said, I realize that this type of consulting has its drawbacks, and for me, the
most pressing one (even more than the inability to get immediate answers to
questions) is the loss of non-verbal communication. I don’t get to smile to the writer and
gesture warmly towards a candy bowl. I
don’t get to make eye-to-eye contact that shows him or her that I’m genuinely
happy to be of service; instead, my presence for the writer is nothing more
than black type on a white background.
Because of this, I worry about what all I can do to make up for this
discrepancy the best I can.
In answer
to my wonderings, I see the need to focus on developing the type of voice I
have in the feedback I’ll be giving. I
suppose this involves some attention in the field of rhetoric (Oh wow—I can
almost hear all the rhet-comp majors woop-wooping and saying, “Rhet-comp all
the way!"). In other words, given the
target audience (only the writer) and the message I want to convey (that I’m a
professional who they can have confidence in but also enjoy on a peer-to-peer
level), what rhetorical ideas should I be working with? What does this look like in an email
consultation? Here’s what pops into
the ole noodle:
-I need to look
and sound confident and knowledgeable, which includes a very cleanly written
response.
-I need to
keep the academia-speak in check; I’m not writing to a professor, but rather a
peer who needs to feel like I’m relatable.
-My emails
should include the voice that is quirky, optimistic, and excited to read what
the writer has.
-I need to
be mindful that writer’s anxiety is still very real. The medium of this type of consulting doesn’t
allow me the visibility to notice a writer’s nervousness or anxieties, even if
those feelings were most definitely present for him or her. Because of this, I should take extra care
into weaving encouragement throughout the feedback.
-I need to
make sure I don’t bite off more than the
writer can chew. The feedback I give
should never overwhelm—this is something I have to watch myself closely over
because I have the tendency to ramble. I
just see so many dang connective fibers between this thing here and that thing
over there, and before I know it, I’ve talked about too many different ideas.
Okay. Now I feel like I’m prepared to give my first
email consultation a whirl. I’m ready to
learn from the many times I’ll be falling flat on my face!
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