Team Lead: Hey I know you are not in favour of the change right now but I’ve talked to the PM who agrees that we should put that user story into next sprint.
Would you mind writing up the acceptance criteria and assign that to Jamie if you have time?
Thankyouverymuch.
Team Member: 👍🏻
What does 👍🏻 mean here?
[A] I acknowledge your message. That’s all. I have not agreed to write up that Acceptance Criteria yet.
[B] I will action your request. But I may not necessarily agree with you.
[C] I like what you just said. And OK, I will action.
[D] You’re a tosser but I can’t say it out loud, so I will be passive aggressive about it with this emoticon and let you think that I’m going to action your ‘demand’ but actually I’m not and when you ask me why I’ll say I didn’t have time because your request sounded like it was ‘optional’. 😒
That’s the problem with using emoticons and short-form text to communicate.
So many opportunities for dire miscommunication.
I once asked my parents what they thought the 👍🏻 reaction on a WhatsApp message meant
They said that it shows that you like the message.
😯
I was quite surprised, because for me, the thumbs up emoji meant that I was acknowledging the message or that I was confirming what’s being said.
For example:
“Don’t forget we have dinner tonight at 7pm. Make sure you’re dressed appropriately.”
👍🏻 – Understood. I’ll make sure the kids aren’t in shorts and sandals.
I think many people use it differently to mean any of the following:
– I like
– I agree
– I understand
– I acknowledge
– I will action
… and therein lies the problem.
They don’t all mean the same thing, by the way.
Unless everyone is on the same page as to what a symbol means, it can be the cause of confusion, strife and misunderstanding.
If that can happen with a little emoji, think of how badly things can go when you try to reduce a message that is deep and rich in meaning inito DMs, one liners in Slack/Whatsapp message or Tweet such as:
– I love you
– I am hurting
– I have to make a decision that will hurt you and the people I care about
– I am going through something really awful and I am drowning, and I need your support right now even though we have been so angry with each other for years.
The many ways we communicate as humans are so varied and diverse that it pays to be mindful of the format and channel of our message.
To connect with someone is to be seen and understood at a deeper human level, including all the subtle nuances which cannot easily be conveyed by an emoticon.
But if the message is a light hearted one…
🙅🏻♀️🍰😍🍩😋
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
😁
What does 👍🏻 mean to you?
