Should you use exclamation points in business emails!

Should you use exclamation points in business emailsShould you use exclamation points in business emailsWe have already covered the difficultquestion of how to use emojis in the workplace. Now I will be leading you through an advanced course on whether or not you shoulduse exclamation points.Lets be honest Its a divisive subject. Apple strongly advisesits advertisers to avoid it in their promotions. The U.K. government restricted exclamation point usage in its primary schools, saying that sentences with exclamation marks must departure withwhat or how to becreditworthy for tests. People who are against its use believe exclamation pointsare insincere - is anyone ever that enthusiastic about submitting expenses - and a sign of unprofessional behavior.But despite the bad reputation this punctuation mark gets in certain circles, I use them in moderation at work. One colleague of mine explained plainly why he uses them so liberally too in his emails I want to be liked Me too We all know too much gets lost in translation when it comes to abbreviated tone over the internet. When youre writing business emails to clients, adding an exclamation point can be the difference between sounding coldly brusque or pleasantly friendly.I like to err on the side of an exclamation point andwould rather come off too enthusiasticthan cold.Im not alone in thinking this. A 2006 study found that women use exclamations points more than men, not as markers of excitability, but to signal friendliness to others.Not even people who make their living from good grammar are immune to the exclamation points reign of supremacy. Although my training tells me not to overuse exclamation points because they are shouty and juvenile, I find myself using them because I fear being seen as unfriendly or insincere if I only use a period, Grammar Girls Mignon Fogarty told New York Magazine.When to usean exclamation pointAs a general rule of business correspondence, you should see how other people email you to get a gauge on how you should email them back. If a clientis reaching out to you with multipleexclamation points, then you know that their baseline level of politeness requires liberal use of the exclamation point. Fine You can adapt Otherwise, you can stick to your authentic self as someone who prefers periods. (Which, by the way, make you sound like a jerk in text messagesand other informal communications, like Slack direct messages or Google chat.)Exclamation points can also soften demands and make sentencessound encouraging instead of accusatory the difference between Ill need this by Friday. Thanks or Ill need this by Friday. Thanks.The stakes to using an exclamation point become higher around celebratory events. If someone is emailing you about their promotion, express your sincere joy through multiple exclamation points. And even if youre not a big fan of the move, social pressure dictatesthat anexclamation point is needed over a period. In a onlineworld where every commu nication can be loaded with meaning, you cant say congrats. without coming off as a grump. But congrats always sound right.When not to use an exclamation pointBut dont go crazy and start using exclamations in every sentence of your business correspondence. That level of enthusiasm may make you sound unhinged in professional settings. There are also, of course, emails where you want to sound firm and friendlyexclamation points wouldnt help signal that.The Muse recommends sticking to one exclamation point per email if you feel the urge Pick the place that you think it fits best in your written message, and then delete all of the others. Yes, its a little cutthroat. But, its undoubtedly effective. That way, when the recipient reads it, the lone exclamation point gets the emphasis it deserves.Whenever youre in doubt, try reading your emails out loud. If the level of enthusiasm and emphasissounds appropriate, send it off