A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

In preparation for writing this blog post, I Googled “granny mobcap emoji.” Why? Because I was hoping that I was not the only person who has consistently misinterpreted this image: 🤯

I get it now, how you see this image as an “exploding head.” To be more specific, a “shocked face with exploding head emoji,” Unicode U+1F92F. But squint, and you’ll see an alarmed person with a white, rounded hat, akin to a grandmother wearing a gathered bonnet (and, presumably, a frilly nightgown). You troublesome whippersnapper, she cries, shaking a fist.

Emojis make me nervous. I rarely text them, and when an accidental combination of an “8” followed by a “)” produces the sunglasses-wearing smiley 😎, I promptly disavow it as part of my message. On Facebook, I select a thumbs-up “Like” to reply, whether it is in applause or as a sign of acknowledgement and support. This makes it awkward when people post about the deaths of beloved pets. I’ve been known to write in text chains, “[Insert emoji here].”

However, my attitude toward emojis had to shift when it came to the Maestro Group. Smiley faces (which, it turns out, are only “slightly smiling” faces) and upturned thumbs were insufficient. I had to embrace “tada” (old-fashioned cheer microphone, mysteriously loaded with confetti), “woohoo” (muppet wearing sombrero, who changes color as it grooves in circles), and “fire” (a straightforward flame, thank goodness).

In other words, I am the best and worst person in the world to write about emojis. If you’re uneasy with using them, I’m right there with you. If you’re fluent in the emoji language, awesome, but I represent your potential coworker, prospect, or client who is…not. Yet.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Before there were emojis, there were Dingbats—designed in 1978 by typographer Hermann Zapf—and Wingdings, implemented in the 1990s by Microsoft as a font that could easily insert symbols into word-processing documents. The key progenitor to emojis is the set of 176 characters, each using a 12×12 pixel grid, that Shigetaka Kurita designed for 1999 release by the Japanese mobile phone company NTT DOCOMO. These images include astrological symbols, playing card symbols, an umbrella, a high-heeled shoe, icons for a telephone and a camera, smoking and “no smoking” signs, a disability wheelie, and a hamburger. Kurita’s work is now part of the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

In 2008, Apple created its own emoji set and keyboard for the iPhone released in Japan, which piqued interest. By 2018, there were about 2,000 designs supported by Unicode (an international encoding standard that works in various scripts and languages). Early studies of emoji users noted the embrace of the mode by younger individuals, who cited the ability of emojis to help with personal expression. The phenomenon was also more popular among women, which was theorized to correlate with the observed tendency of women to use smartphones for socializing with friends and family.

By 2021, according to Unicode, 92% of all those who used the internet also used emoji in their communications. A 2022 study asked participants to react to a fictitious letter from a professor, welcoming new students; those who received the version of the letter containing emojis rated the professor “warmer” and perceived a higher level of intimacy. Not surprisingly, as students have graduated and entered the workforce, they have brought emojis with them. Stickering your correspondence with an emoji is no longer relegated to any one generation or context.

YOU MAY ASK YOURSELF

In Adobe’s “Future of Creativity: 2022 U.S. Emoji Trend Report,” a survey of 5,000 American emoji users showed that 79% agreed that emojis were helpful for quickly sharing ideas. Of those interviewed, 62% agreed that using them made team decision-making more efficient. An additional 58% asserted that using emojis at work provided a boost to their creativity. 

When is the right time to use an emoji? Many workplace dialogues invite repetition, even when they’re doing the good and necessary work building rapport. After all, there are only so many different ways you can say “Congrats” or “Nice job.” Emojis offer a quick, breezy form of exchange where a mounting count feels affirming rather than cloyly repetitive, and an unexpected emoji choice can provide a laugh and reignite the thread. Face emojis can also be surprisingly nuanced at capturing embarrassment, which is one of the toughest emotions to air in the workplace. Being able to admit to your team when you make an error is an important part of creating psychological safety, which we discussed in recent weeks. 

For many, figuring out the emoji equivalent to what would otherwise be phrased in words (perhaps a bunch of words) provides a thrill. In 2013, the Library of Congress accepted its first emoji-only book—editor Fred Benenson’s retelling of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick; or, The Whale. The Paris Review held a contest challenging readers to recognize famous poems in their emoji forms, in which the opening line of William Blake’s “The Tyger” became 🐯!  🐯! 🔥 💥.

SAME AS IT EVER WAS

The first time I realized that emojis were handy, and not just playful, was at a professional conference. I attend an annual gathering of 10 to 14 thousand people who write, publish, and teach literature, and spend most of those days in panels. If you’re part of an attentive audience—or if you’re on the panel facing an attentive audience—the last thing you want to do is noticeably turn away to take a phone call or reply to a text. Emoji answers got the job done quickly, whether saying, “I loved your reading!” or, “Yes, we’re on to meet at the hotel bar.” Emojis also seemed more reliable than texts or calls when relying on spotty convention center Wi-Fi. 

Learning to use emojis turned out to be part of the same practical skillset as (here’s a blast from the past) the first time I learned to scan and send a document rather than faxing it. As of 2023, I have over 3,600 emojis in Unicode to choose from. This expansion of the visual vocabulary is particularly appealing because, as the Adobe study revealed, 71% of emoji users agree that inclusive designs help spark positive conversations around cultural and societal issues. Unicode 15.1’s new emojis recommended for release include a mobility-diverse set of people shown using canes, manual wheelchairs, and motorized scooters. 

Another forthcoming Unicode addition is the phoenix, a fiery mythological bird that we invoke when we talk about Maestro’s Phoenix Sales Method. Although we didn’t ask for this, we’ll certainly take advantage. Perhaps you have an idea for an image of particular use to your company, or you’d like an emoji of your company logo. In Slack, there’s an easy way to add custom emojis (if your workspace allows it) for all your team’s Slack members.

Adopting emojis inside your organization’s culture is one thing. But what about using them for external communications? Next week we’ll drill down more into the science of using emojis in public-facing conversations, particularly in sales and customer-success exchanges. 

Our emoji game is 💯. Reach out at mastery@maestrogroup.co for more information on training, coaching, assessments, and more.