01.17.18
Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say
I received an email recently with emojis/emoticons at the end of a statement. I consider myself fairly savvy on technology and the latest terms but I was left confused. Maybe my eyesight isn’t what it used to be but I couldn’t tell if the person was just smiling at me, or smiling with a slight sneer, smiling while rolling their eyes or flat out insulting me.
It would be silly of me to think that the use of emojis or emoticons will go away anytime soon. The use of pictorial diagrams to communicate emotion have been around throughout the history of man indicating happiness, anger, fear, etc. Many of us regularly use them on our smart phones when texting and even in email. However, in a world where so many things can be misinterpreted by a variation in an emoji or emoticon symbol, I would caution you to say what you mean. Communication is already a challenge for most people and companies. Complicating it by causing the recipient to wonder, “What did they really mean?”, only adds to more opportunities for misunderstandings to occur. The old adage “Say what you mean and mean what you say,” still holds true.
Have a great day!
Regards,
Brian
