It wasn't only the PM, the AI lead apparently felt the same, although I think the AI lead was the one that kicked up a fuss in the first place.
At first I was really pissed off - I didn't think I'd done anything wrong, and was completely baffled about the complaint. I went over my emails myself, and thought about calls we'd had, and I just didn't get it. TBH, I still don't understand how it could have been misconstrued, but I have to accept that it was.
Anyway, I guess the point is that while I'm terse, open and honest, not everyone else is. Consider your recipients before sending that mail - who are they, where are they from, what approach are they likely to be receptive to.
In other words, developing your communication skills can have good impact.
Presumably, both parties made an effort to better understand each other. There's no evidence to doubt that the PM was more forgiving/understanding of terse emails going forwards.
Plus, OP was new to the UK team. It seems natural that the onus would be more on him to adapt than trying to play with the culture of the existing team.
Am I misreading your comment or something? It comes across as very...standoffish...to me as it seems like the way this was resolved is the most sane, rational, mutually-respectuful course one could hope for.
Typically the person receiving the message is better fit to accommodate others (see the HN guidelines about taking the most charitable interpretation of a post). Otherwise you're expecting everyone else to adjust themselves when talking to you.
