When is it ok to add an emoticon?

Love them or hate them. 🙂 them or 😦 them. Emoticons have been a part of our written interactions for a good few years now. 

It’s often said that a picture can speak a hundred words. But does this still ring true when it comes to a few colons, hashes and parentheses placed in a comical order?

If I’m totally honest, I’m a fan of a good emoticon. In spite of working in an industry where the written word is something I spend every day utilising and improving on, there are simply some cases when a smiley face can sum things up far better than anything I write ever could.

But that doesn’t mean to say that emoticons are always appropriate. Oh no it does not. :-l I would consider emoticon-free zones to be: 

• Articles
• Press releases
• Promotional material

Essentially, anything customer-facing. 

These small icons of emotion shouldn’t be used to break down barriers, but blossom out of relationships perhaps made less formal over time. Consider them the body language of the written word – something we’re in control of when it counts, and relaxed about when it’s appropriate to be so. 

What’s your perspective on emoticons? Share your thoughts with me below or maybe tweet me at wise_judy. Thanks 🙂