The Exclamation Point Issue

Those of us of a certain age will remember the lessons taught to us by Schoolhouse Rock. In this instance, the brilliant piece, “Interjections.” “Interjections show excitement or emotion. They’re often set apart from a sentence by an exclamation point or by a comma when the feeling’s not as strong.” It was right there in the song. I didn’t have to use an exclamation point “When the feeling’s not as strong.” And so, my generation walked the Earth happily using a dearth of exclamation points.

When I entered the advertising world, I found that exclamation points are looked on as a joke. They are a sign of lazy and poor writing. An example of what I was taught/told/threatened with as I came up in the copywriting trade, “The words you write should excite people, not your punctuation.” Those words stuck with me. ?I continued to rarely use the exclamation point.? The only times I would use one is if you were getting married, having a baby, or a Boston team won a championship. That’s it. Exclamation points were like the brown acid at Woodstock. You just don’t use them. This is how I lived, and I was fine with that.

I did notice, though, that account people used exclamation points all the time. So, did PMs. And producers. Really, almost everyone else used them, overused them and, in many cases, abused them. Example: “We had a great meeting! They loved the work!!! We should be getting feedback next Tuesday! Hopefully, just minor tweaks!! Look out for updates from me before then! Have a great night everyone!!!” Now, I was in that meeting. Truth is, it seemed to go fine but we’ll be getting feedback on Tuesday. So, to me, all those exclamation points felt, if not like a lie, at least a misrepresentation of the truth. The truth is that nothing too exciting happened. It was another in the series of 4,253,727, 832 meetings we’ll all have throughout our careers. No more. No less.

Then, a few years ago I had a conversation that, in no small way, changed my life. Truly. Changed my life. I was on a shoot with a producer friend of mine. She is much younger than I am. She and I had worked together for years. We’re friends. I respect and trust her implicitly and value her opinion. One evening she and I were having dinner, and she asked me if I was okay with the news she had emailed me earlier. I said, “Yes. I emailed you back, didn’t I?” “Yes” she replied, “But you just wrote “Okay.” Confused I said, “Yeaaah, cuz it’s okay. I don’t understand.” “Well,” she continued, “I thought you were mad at me.” “What? Why would you think that?” And here’s the answer that changed my life, “Because you just said “Okay” with a period on it like you were mad.” “No. I used a period because the news was okay. It wasn’t amazing or earth-shattering. It was okay. So, I used a period. I never use exclamation points.” “I know” she said, “We all wonder if you’re mad at us. Then we see you, and you’re joking around, and we realize you’re not.”

Wow. So, all these years there were people wandering around who thought I was pissed at them when I was not. Simply because I was adhering to the judicious use of the exclamation point. I felt like a jerk.

Indulge me with a diversion that I assure you will make sense later. In 7TH grade I had to do a long division math problem on the blackboard in front of the class. Math was not my strong suit. Explaining the relationship of nature in Wordsworth’s poetry? Sure. Expounding on the meaning of Van Gogh’s use of yellow in black in his paintings? I’m your guy. Anything beyond 2+2=4, I’m screwed. Anyway, by the grace of God. I miraculously got the long division problem correct. Except for the placement of the decimal point. My nun, who was terrifying, I’m not nun-bashing, I love nuns, but she was scary. She looked like former Boston Bruins hockey player, Stan Jonathan, with horn-rimmed glasses. She hit like him too. She barked at me, “Billy Girouard, put that decimal point where I taught you.” Obviously, I thought I had. Desperate, I looked to the kids in the first row for help. In no time, I had half-hearted decimal points between every number I had up on the board. Sister yelled in her Irish brogue, “BILLY! STOP THROWING AROUND DECIMAL POINTS WITH A SALTSHAKER!” (Note my use of the exclamation points here are extremely warranted as she was angry, and I was in fear for my 12-year-old life).

I bring up this story from my youth (I escaped with only a smack on my back that sounded a lot worse than it felt), to say that I’m not asking you, gentle reader, to throw exclamation points around with a saltshaker either. Keep them out of your ads and your formal writing unless truly required. However, I do ask you to learn from my many faults. There is a whole generation out there craving for your exclamation-point-filled approval. It’s not going to kill you to pepper a few in your emails. Try writing things like, “Great point, Jess!” “The muffins you brought in were delicious, Jerome!” “I should have brought my umbrella, Maya!” Your work-life and reputation will skyrocket around the office, and you’ll eat less lunches alone and wondering why.

I hope this helps! Have a great day!!!