Hi there! 
Did that smiley face annoy you?
Probably not.
I’ve been using emoticons like this for years and not one client, prospect, colleague, reader or friend has ever complained.
On the contrary, several have asked how to do it so they can follow suit. It’s easy in MS Word and many other common applications:
- Type : then ) to get
- Type : then ( to get
I won’t try to cover the full range of emoticons, as it’s very broad.
My rule of thumb is to use emoticons as I do actual facial expressions.
So, if I’m chasing an invoice payment, I might start with and move to 
before resorting to .
On the other hand, I’d never write: ‘Hey, I heard you got sacked from your dream job today! ’
Some say you shouldn’t use emoticons on Twitter. My view is that when you have just 140 characters with which to convey complex thoughts, clarification of intent is particularly vital.
. Not doing so could deeply offend. Another thing to watch is that not all applications translate emoticons. I’ve had emails come back with my 
