The other day, I asked people what they thought about using emoticons in professional correspondence. The answers I received were unsurprising; flat-out refusals abounded as well as a few responses that offered a more balanced perspective. Emoticons could be allowable if the professional contact was known well, possibly outside professional circles. Even then, most of the responders expressed a hesitance toward using them. It just seemed not quite professional or undercut the image they were trying to portray.
I could have let the thoughts lie there, but I started to turn the topic over in my mind. I began to wonder if emoticons were producing lazier writing in general. Was I using them with friends when I was uncertain my tone or intention might not be conveyed? If I were doing that, what could I do about my writing to make my meaning clear? How could I express myself without using emoticons?
I started to challenge myself not to use emoticons. It wasn’t easy; I felt the compulsion to add them when I was unsure that my tongue-in-cheek humor would be understood. I continued forward anyway. I tested the waters and saw how well a person knew me and sent the text or tweet or Facebook message without the emoticons and awaited the results. Sometimes, the tone was missed. Other times, it was understood, and the person engaged with it.
Perhaps that points to another problem with emoticons: they can dull one’s critical reading abilities. One doesn’t have to read carefully if the intention is stated outright with a winky face. If the face is missing, the person has to weigh the words and his or her knowledge of the person sending the message. It’s a bit more time-consuming, which may explain emoticons’ popularity. They feed the “now” mentality. They make things easier, but perhaps, perhaps, written communication needs to be a bit more difficult to decipher.
I challenge you: use no emoticons in any communications for the next three days. Let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear about your experiences.
Image: Casey Fleser (CC BY 2.0)