Remote working has started gaining a lot of attention, especially during the pandemic. While currently people are left with no choice but to operate from home, this distant working concept would likely gain more and more interest in the years to come.
Since we cannot meet people nowadays, it is really important to maintain a personal touch with everyone through impressive communication skills. When it comes to communicating your thoughts, your speech and expressions both play a pivotal role.
This is when emojis come into the picture during online conversations.
Emojis or emoticons are no longer just fun characters that we exchange with our close friends. They have been making their space in corporate communications for quite some time now. Emoticons facilitate effective business communication across organizations and we all know how strong communication is a pillar for every organization.
Emojis And Professionalism
If you also hesitate to send over emojis to your colleagues or your manager for the first time, you are not alone. The 2019 Emoji Trend Report has got you covered.
It revealed that people at their formal workplaces have started using emojis in their daily conversations but 72% of people reported being hesitant at first. So, most of us are in the same boat.
Read Also: Top 10 Emojis That Are Misused In Work And Professional WhatsApp Chats
This concern against using emoticons can be attributed to misconceptions surrounding communication in the corporate world. Earlier, people used to associate emojis with unprofessional behaviour. Even some studies had published that emojis depict the incompetency of an individual.
But times are changing now and for all the good reasons, people have started accepting and even appreciating emojis during formal conversations as they add that personal touch to an email or message.
Why You Should Use Emojis More Often
While speaking to someone, your tone is the major game-changer and that’s what emojis help you with, setting the right tone for the right context. During non-verbal conversations, it is highly likely that the message communicated may be misunderstood. Thus, to prevent that, those cute little smileys can do wonders.
Additionally, professional communications have started becoming more personal these days owing to the fact that multiple generations are working in the same workplace. So, few contextual emojis here and there in your emails would most probably not hurt the receiver.
Moreover, the geographical barriers have been removed for long now. So, people across the globe are working with diverse teams and in order to avoid miscommunication, it is pivotal that we use a language that is universal and may not be misinterpreted.
What’s better than emojis which have a consistent meaning throughout the world? Regardless of different native languages, I am sure, you and I and everyone across the board would be easily able to interpret :) & :(
How far does the use of emoticons in formal conversations stretch is yet to be seen. Organizations have just started accepting emojis as a part of team communications and there is a long way to go!
However, it is always advisable to maintain a thin line between professional and personal communication. It works wonders to maintain the sanity of your workplace while ensuring effective communication.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: 2019 Emoji Trend Report, Forbes
Find the blogger: @_RitikaNijhawan
This post is tagged under: emojis at workplace, can you use emojis in emails, can i use smileys with my colleagues, emoticons in formal conversations, emojis in professional conversations
