Smileys

When you talk to someone face-to-face, your body language, the tone of your voice, your inflections and facial expressions impart great meaning to what you say. These non-verbal cues may be more important than your words. You can personalize your written communication by using a smiley or emoticon--a "face" you create from keyboard characters. You'll be amazed at the range of emotions these little characters express.

Below are some of the more popular smileys. Can you guess what they mean? Roll your mouse over each one to find out.

While smileys add personality to your messages, abbreviations save keystrokes. Some common ones include:

• < BFN > Bye For Now
• < BRB > Be Right Back
• < BTW > By The Way
• < G > Grin
• < HTH > Hope This Helps
• < IJWTK > I Just Want To Know
• < IJWTS > I Just Want To Say
• < IMHO > In My Humble Opinion
• < LOL > Laughing Out Loud
• < OTOH > On The Other Hand
• < ROTFL > Rolling on the Floor Laughing
• < TOY > Thinking of You
• < YMMV > Your Mileage May Vary

Go out there and start communicating.

Last update: Jan 11, 2010