We all do it or have to one degree or another.  One you get an email and you can’t tell if the author is kidding, joking or really really mad.  When this happens to me I try to pick of th phone and clarify things.  I can’t tell you how many times I have wrongly presumed anger because of the brevity of the email, or misinterpreted joking because of the  sarcasm only find out how far off base I was.

Our preception can be impaired because we read too much, or too little in between the lines.  READER BEWARE, sometimes when it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and looks like a duck; it is anything but.  On the other hand if you know the person that is writing you do know.  Use your best judgment but be cautious when you jump to a conclusion.