• HOME
  • ABOUT
  • WORKSHOPS
  • WRITING
  • WELTCHEK WEEKLY
  • CONTACT
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • WORKSHOPS
  • WRITING
  • WELTCHEK WEEKLY
  • CONTACT

The Weltchek Weekly

Your Bulletin for Better Business Writing

 
Categories
  • Prepare
  • Organize
  • Write
  • Edit
  • Review
  • Say It Better. Say It Right
Sign up for the Weltchek Weekly
Your Bulletin for Better Business Writing

Don’t Write in Exclamation Points

  • Category: Uncategorized, Write
  • |
  • On August 13, 2014

I got an email with a special offer to help me manage my money. “Learn how to take control of your financial life! A live webinar, instructional videos, and one-on-one coaching are just the tip of the iceberg! Let me know if you have any questions!”

And then came another email: “It was great to connect! I hope we can work together!”

And another: “You’ve shown yourself to be one of our absolute best users and, as we expand, we’re looking for more people just like you!”

By the end of the day I felt as if I had received one long pitch from a used car salesman.

When we add exclamation points—and we all have the urge (my first drafts are littered with them; I just resisted putting one here)—we’re telling our readers we’re not sure what we’re saying merits their attention. The exclamation point shouts, “No really, pay attention, this is huge.”

Ninety-nine percent of the time, the words we choose—and the pictures we paint with them—can do the exclaiming. I read a piece about college freshmen gaining weight in their first semester, the so-called Freshman 15. “That’s almost a pound a week!” the author expounded. If ever there were a topic that didn’t need to prod its audience to pay attention, it would be weight gain. A pound a week, that’s alarm enough.

Use an exclamation point when you’re expressing something you would say in a raised voice—i.e., exclaim—or might preface with the rolling of drums or the rolling out of the red carpet. In other words, use it sparingly.

Learn about my customized writing workshops for communications and marketing teams.
Share:

Previous Post

Save Your Leverage for the Bargaining Table

Next Post

Don't Use Impact as a Verb
Scroll

Weltchek Weekly

Want help sprucing up your copy?
Sign up here to get practical tips for improving everything you write.

 

© WeltchekWrites

Contact me here