On Tuesday morning, Paul sent an email to his colleague Rachel. He wrote that the project report was "not up to standard." He meant that one section needed more data — but he had not explained that clearly.
Rachel read the email and felt offended. She told her manager that Paul had criticised her work without giving any feedback. Her manager said she would look into it.
Later, Paul's manager called him and explained that Rachel had said she was upset. Paul was surprised. He said that he had not intended to upset anyone — he had just been direct.
The two managers arranged a meeting. Paul apologised and explained that the problem was only with one section. Rachel admitted that she had misread his tone. They both agreed that face-to-face communication would have been better.
By the end of the meeting, they were laughing about it. "Next time I'll pick up the phone," Paul said. Rachel nodded. "Or just talk to me in person. My desk is five metres away."