[unoti]

For many kinds of business discussions, being able to read emotions is even more important than with interpersonal discussions. Many business discussions involve selling ideas, selling products, understanding concerns, and so on. Once someone says something, they tend to dogmatically stick to that, even in the face of clear evidence that their position was wrong[1]. This phenomenon is even more pronounced when they write something. Whenever someone needs to have their mind changed, writing is the worst way to go about it!

[1] Consider reading a book like Influence by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D. which has all kinds of fascinating studies about how people act in surprisingly illogical ways based on what they write. The book cites a number of studies on this issue of irrational consistency, and how it is routinely exploited in situations ranging from sales to indoctrination.