Tone is Not Always Audible

DISCLAIMER: I’ll be using Tone as a proper noun here and there for differentiation.

It’s been said, “A person’s tone can’t be detected in a text message or email.” My response was, “The lies people tell themselves!”

The same way tone is detected in a book or a newspaper article is the same way it is detected in a text message, email, or even social media status/comment. It’s frustrating to learn that some people think because it’s digitally written, the rules were changed. Not in many cases and not in the case of tone.

So what do I mean?

Tone has many definitions that differ. A person’s body can be toned. Musical notes have distinctive tones. He spoke with a harsh tone. Earth tones are considered natural shades on the color wheel. Literarily, tone means the writer’s attitude toward a specific subject. That being said, Tone is a feeling. Tone is a vibe. Tone is one of the few things that is accurately assumed in the written word. Digitally written, Tone has the same literal meaning.

• Vocal Tone: “Watch your tone, little girl.” Familial adults would say this after I responded a certain way to their directives. This was their way of telling me that the tone in my voice was borderline disrespectful as a child speaking to an adult. Not necessarily the words I spoke but the inflections in my voice on certain words. In turn, their tone informing me of my tone was an authoritative one not to be ignored. Also, the “little girl” phrase was a condescending reminder of my place and position in the matter. To this day, “Watch your tone,” has become a staple in my memory and often a phrase used when speaking with children or fellow adults. This is all because Tone can be heard!
• Punctuational Tone: I read a meme on social media saying, “I HATE eating out with people who give waiters a hard time!” If you’re one to say, “tone can’t be detected,” try reading the statement aloud, as written. Remember in grammar school, we learned that when we see an exclamation point it means excitement? There are two at the end of the sentence. In the social media world, when we see all caps, it means yelling. The word “hate” is in all caps. Again, I request reading the sentence aloud, as written, using all of the cues given, “I HATE eating out with people who give waiters a hard time!!” Did you detect Tone? Of course, you did because you heard it. If you heard it aloud, then you surely felt it silently due to the cues. The cues don’t disappear because the reading apparatus changed from a paperback book to an iPad. The rules haven’t changed that much.
• Contextual Tone: Due to social media being a quick way to display one’s thoughts and ideas, punctuation is not often used appropriately, nor accurately, if used at all. Let’s try reading this sentence without emphasis, “I hate eating out with people who give waiters a hard time.” Remember, Tone is an attitude, a feeling, a vibe. Did you feel a negative attitude from the author? You should have. Why? Some words have positive or negative tones attached to them based on their definitions. In this case, without hearing the emphasis or seeing punctuations, you had context, “hate” and “hard time.” Both word and phrase are indicative of negative tones. You didn’t need punctuation or all-caps emphasis to let you know this author is not happy with those types of people.

This was an easy tone detection example. Often times, Tone is neutral via text, email, and social media. There will be times when the tone detected was not the tone intended. In those cases, it’s good to remember that communication plays a big part in understanding. Don’t neglect it to ensure everyone’s on the same page. I’ll stop with this tidbit to help those who still believe, “You can’t detect Tone in a text or email.” Once you pay attention to the words chosen and punctuation used to relay the author’s message, you will detect Tone unless you choose to ignore it! Even without audio or the correct punctuation, words matter and word choice tells the tale.