Effective written communication

Effective verbal (written) communication is a critical part of maintaining a healthy distributed team. Without the aid of non-verbal cues (facial expressions, tone), we rely on effective written communication to nurture a positive and empathetic working environment.

Limit use of emphatics in technical conversations

From the writelab article on Using emphatics:

“Emphatics are words writers use to strengthen their arguments. Because they reiterate what the sentence already says, they can make writers sound uncertain or defensive. Emphatics are empty words (words which add little meaning to a sentence). Other empty words include hedge words, superfluous modifiers, and empty verbs. We recommend that you use emphatics sparingly. In most cases, sentences do not require emphatics.”

Limited use of empathetics keeps conversations focused on facts rather than the emotions surrounding them.