Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and I’m sometimes tempted to put a little smiley face at the end of a particularly blunt email. As if a colon and parenthesis are going to somehow soften the blow. Sometimes I give in to that temptation, but I’m here today to warn you: Do as I say, not as I do. Don’t put emoji, text or otherwise, into your emails.
The reason for this is simple. Tone doesn’t carry well in emails, and a misplaced smiley face often comes across as passive aggressive. Yes, you thought you were being friendly when you wrote: “Where are the budget proposals? The deadline was Friday. Smiley face.” But the tone of your smile is at odds with the tone of your text, creating unnecessary confusion. If you want the budget proposals, just ask for the budget proposals. Don’t try to replicate in-person cues with bits of text or pictures.
Many of us send emails when we could walk two doors down and talk in-person. Complex requests, acknowledgment of work well done, and anything that can’t be explained in a sentence or two warrants a conversation, not an email. An email never takes the place of a genuine conversation.
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