Why Your Emails Could Use an Exclamation Point (or Three) Punctuation and other markers -- emoticons, slang and the like -- serve as stand-ins for facial expression and vocal intonation.

For years, I resisted the exclamation point. In emails, I typed "Hi"; not "Hi!" "8:30"; not "8:30!" And "Disregard previous email. I found a large binder clip"; not "Disregard previous email!! I found a large binder clip!!!!!!" As Kanye West and Donald Trump indiscriminately employed the exclamation point in tweets, as Panic! At the Disco enjoyed modest success in the mid-'00s, as even my least enthusiastic coworkers expressed enthusiasm over email, I remained stoic in the face of the exclamation point's rise.

And then one morning, not all that long ago, I gave in.

I typed "Thanks!"