Tone is so hard to convey via text or email.
We've all bemoaned the non-existance of a universal sarcasm font or sign at some point, right? Well, barring any other options, the winky face is it. Want to make a smartass joke and be absolutely certain that she'll know you're joking and have fun with it? Insert ;).
It's much better to wink than be sorry and spend 10 texts back and forth trying to explain your joke.
It shows you can be playful.
Yes, there is such a thing as overdoing it. I don't want to see a smiley face in every damn text you send. But every once in awhile, it's good to know that you're sitting over there with a smile on your face while you're texting me. I worry if everything is gruff and dry and boring.
Built-in flirtation.
It's easy to flirt and be a little suggestive by just adding a wink or a smile. No need to spell it out and get too explicit. Drop a little innuendo, add a wink, and you're set.
But don't overdo it.
There's a difference between playful and flirty and too much. You don't need a wink in every text. They lose their effect and make you look soft.
Also, never ok: [smile] or anything like that. Just no.
I don't often use emoticons in text. I use ;) suggestively sometimes. And :D if someone has really made my day. Past that I don't bother. Also I try to steer clear of texts when it needs tone in order to convey meaning. Learned that the hard way
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how you can steer clear of stuff that needs tone altogether. So much communication is done over text these days, and most of it needs tone.
ReplyDeleteI find myself over using them, or starting a smart ass comment off w "just being a smart ass here but.....". As someone gets to know me they will know I'm far from soft, but I could really offend someone if they thought they were being judged or looked down on. That can be hard to recover from.
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