A four-letter word from a prim, pious old lady expresses a rare level of extreme emotion; mouths drop open and eyes turn in her direction. In contrast, profanity from a person who punctuates nearly every sentence with it receives little reaction from regular companions. It is too common to warrant special attention.

Online, apparently overstimulated people live unbelievably exciting lives. On their Facebook walls, in their tweets, and in their emails, nearly every sentence is punctuated as if delivered by a hysterical preteen “Twilight” fan being bitten by a real vampire named Edward who looks like Robert Pattinson.

“This is so amazing! He is so cute!! This so hurts!!! I am so going to be a vampire now!!!!”

A statement of intense emotion, such as shock, disbelief, urgency, or enthusiasm, may be punctuated by an exclamation point. In other words, news that would trigger a sudden intake of breath, fainting, shouting, running for the door, or jumping up and down might -- just might -- be worthy of an exclamation point.

When writing an email or social media update, pause before reflexively inserting an exclamation point. Think, “Does this sentence express the emotional equivalent of a gorgeous vampire about to drain my blood?” Before using two or more exclamation points, ask, “Might my life be a bit less thrilling than my punctuation indicates?”

Let your words express your emotion. Do not drain meaning from the exclamation point through overuse.

(Deb Sturgess is Director of Communications for MyWebTechGurus.Com.  You can reach out to Deb at 816-974-8787, Extension 2, or via email at deb@mywebtechgurus.com .  Deb owns Influential Expression Consulting, where she does training, coaching, writing and editing.)

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites