Just A Tip: Exclamation Marks – Mere Annoyance, or Precursor to the End of Western Civilization?

Have I mentioned how much I hate exclamation marks? They are annoying! They get in the way of effective communication!! Unless you are yelling at a stenographer, it’s what you put at the end of a sentence when you know what you are saying isn’t all that interesting, and yet you still want to get people excited about it!!!

A good writer should be able to make his or her words compelling without resorting to the overuse of punctuation marks.

But, you ask, how do you make the words truly interesting and exciting to the reader? Easy. Grab your audience’s attention with a promise that something of true value will follow. Create a compelling story that leads them through logical arguments. Speak their language. Tell the truth. Respect their intelligence.

If you truly don’t have anything compelling to say to an audience, then adding more exclamation marks will never make your message more effective. Instead, re-examine what you are saying and then adjust your logic so that the message will resonate. Figure out what the audience needs and wants to hear. Get inside their heads as well as their hearts. But do not add more exclamation marks! Trust me!!!

@chempetitive