The Exclamation Mark!
Sometimes you have to set priorities. Last week’s priority was to write about Ariyonna. Today’s blog brings you an entirely different topic, the Exclamation Mark (also known as the exclamation point).
Unexciting? Perhaps. But relevant in more ways than you might think.
The Good Old Days
At the risk of sounding very old, I remember a time when using the line with a dot was reserved to important statements. Sentences ending with an exclamation mark were to be taken seriously. They were intended to express strong feelings or emotions, or to alert people to serious danger.
But that was long before the age of texting, tweeting and instant messaging. Nowadays, it is perfectly normal to add (multiple) exclamation marks to our WhatsApp texts and other messaging devices,
No harm in that, right?
Things are not quite so simple
Well, as ever, things are not quite so simple. The truth is: the inflationary use of exclamation marks can lead to misunderstandings - and cause unnecessary woe to the person they are addressed to.
I was recently reminded of this when a friend of mine (Sue) forwarded the following WhatsApp message to me:
She had received it from her new work colleague, Mike. The message was followed by a link to a podcast on a work-related topic.
The trouble is...
... a written message says nothing about how the writer would say it out loud. Sue had a point. There are many possible nuanees to a “Listen!!!”.
Left unresolved, a minor communication issue like this one can take on a life of its own, e.g.: Sue is upset with Mike; Mike probably has no clue what the matter is; he may be expecting a response from Sue who is now unwilling to communicate with Mike because she is upset with him… You get the gist. And all because Mike chose to use three exlamation marks with a one-word message.
Sue and Mike are English native speakers and come from similar cultural backgrounds. Understanding the meaning and intention of exclamation marks gets even trickier when communicating across cultures and to a multilingual audience.
Since this isn't the first time I have been made aware of an exclamation mark headache, let me leave you with two suggestions:
Firstly…
… if you happen to be an over-user, before you press the “send” button, take a moment to consider why you have included one or more exclamation marks. If in doubt, speak your message out loud to get a sense of how your writing would sound.
Is the intention obvious, inoffensive and appropriate? Or are you adding them out of habit and void of purpose? If so, you may want to do without, especially if you were planning to use several. If you have a purpose, then express the purpose in words first, before resorting to an exclamation mark.
Suggestion number two
If you are the recipient of punctuation loaded messages that leave you confused, possibly even hurt, rather than feeling bad, put the question to the sender. Ask what the intention is. As long as your question is kind and considerate, you can expect to gain clarity and reduce the risk of future misunderstandings.
By the way, that’s exactly what Sue did. Turns out, Mike wanted to be sure she'd listen to the podcast because he felt it was relevant to their work. What he actually meant was
Takeaways:
In future, Sue will try not to react as sensitively to messages “riddled” with exclamation marks.
As for Mike, he is now more aware of how his communication style could be (mis)understood by others.
Enough said. Thanks for reading. Stay safe and watch those exclamation marks(!)
