I just caught up with a bit of newspaper reading today and had to share an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Oct. 23—“I’m Not Mad. I’m Just Not Using Exclamation Points.“ I found it entertaining as well as reaffirming, and enjoyed how Nikki Waller explains her experimental month-long exclamation point “fast” and how it affected her relationships on and off the job. Maybe it won’t resonate with you, but as a communications professional, I, too, find myself obsessing about whether or not to include that exclamation point at times. Is it adding just the right amount of emphasis? Is it too friendly or informal? Does using just a plain old period instead make me sound disinterested, or worse, angry? Now that so much of our communication is written, whether via email, text, or the occasional hard copy letter, it seems we rarely just call or have that face-to-face meeting where our facial expressions, body language, and vocalizations can help deliver our message in the way it is intended.
So if any kind of writing is part of your job, I hope you’ll check this article out, available online at https://www.wsj.com/articles/shes-not-mad-shes-just-not-using-exclamation-points-1540267501. By the way, you do need to be a subscriber to read the whole article online, but the WSJ has a super affordable 12 week trial subscription for just $12. And if you just can’t bring yourself to do that, contact me and I’ll send a copy of the article that appeared in print to you directly.