FREE online courses on Electronic Mail Etiquette - Smiley faces - Emoticons

 

Electronic mail has very nearly the immediacy of a conversation, but is totally devoid of "body language". The Internet "counter-culture" has had an answer to this problem for years - "smiley faces", or groups of ASCII characters that are meant to look like a face turned on its side.

 

The most common smiley faces are probably these:

:-) or :)

A smiling face seen side-on; generally used to indicate amusement, or that a comment is intended to be funny or ironic ("<g>" or "<grin>" is also sometimes used).

:-( or :(

An unhappy face seen side on; generally used to express disappointment or sorrow.

;-)

A winking smiley face; usually indicates that something should be taken "with a grain of salt".

;->

A mischievous smiley face; usually indicates that a comment is intended to be provocative or racy.

 

There are hundreds of others, some more recognizable than others.

 

Using the common smiley faces carefully can markedly improve the clarity of your message, since they convey nuances which approximate "body language". Like any embellishment, however, overuse of smiley faces destroys their value - use them sparingly.

The Bottom Line

 

Above all else, remember that electronic mail is about communication with other people. When you compose an e-mail message, read it over before sending it and ask yourself what your reaction would be if you received it. Any time spent on making our e-mail clearer is time well spent, so let's start taking the time.