Use Your Words, Not Emojis!

If you’ve ever been confused by an emoji, you’re not alone. I know I’ve raised my eyebrows a few times trying to figure out what the writer was trying to communicate. Some emojis are just plain confusing and according to Good Housekeeping, there are 16 emojis that everyone has been using wrong!

Talk about confusing!  Apparently, there is an “official” Emoji Chart that lists and defines all of the emojis that the vast majority of us have been misusing.

For example, have you seen this emoji before?  I would think that it is a painful, forced smile, but according to the chart, it is supposed to be a super happy smiling emoji. See how confusing this can get? No wonder my friend didn’t respond after I used this!

What about this emoji?  I’ve used this one dozens of times to be playful and teasing.  But, it means that you’re enjoying something you’re eating. Wow! I don’t stick my tongue out when I’m eating — and if I did, it certainly wouldn’t be to express how good something is… Yuck! But, I don’t know how an emoji can illustrate salivating or eating something delicious. Hmmm.

While emojis are fun to use and can definitely add more meaning to truncated text messages, they can be misleading.  If you missed my post about “The Lost Art of Communication“, check it out. I just wish we can all go back to using words to describe how we feel or what we want to get across.  It’s really the only way to be sure that the recipient of your message, whether it’s a text message, letter, or demand, completely understands what you want.

So, rather than taking the time to search for the best emoji for your text message, find the best words to describe what you want to say.  Not only will it help your communication (and relationships), it’ll improve your oral communication, too! 

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