Something to Read
Exclamation Points make a comeback.
It should go without saying that we love exclamation points [check our logo if you’re not getting the joke here]. My sister and I often share notes about our email revisions to remove exclamation points…perhaps excitement in written form just runs in the family, but her and I both love including the special punctuation!! (see what I’m doing there??)
When I saw the recent Harvard Business Review article, Don’t Overthink Your Use of Exclamation Points, I knew I had to share it. The piece makes a simple but important case: exclamation points aren’t just decoration, they’re tools that can help us communicate warmth, enthusiasm, and connection—especially in the flat, digital spaces where tone can get lost.
What I loved most was the reminder that the “rules” around punctuation aren’t fixed; they shift as our communication shifts. A single exclamation point at the end of a message can signal friendliness, soften an otherwise curt email, or remind someone that there’s a human being on the other side of the words.
Of course, balance matters. Too many exclamation points and you risk sounding insincere. But one well-placed “!” can make your writing feel more like a conversation and less like a transaction. And isn’t that the point of good communication—to connect?
Read the full HBR article here: Don’t Overthink Your Use of Exclamation Points.
Something to Hear
Don’t be a jerk (to yourself).
At Point Taken, we encourage people to become their best, often through coaching and self-coaching. But we notice that sometimes a request for self-awareness spirals into self-criticism, which is not the same as self-coaching. Be nice to yourself as a supportive coach, not a sadistic inner tyrant.
In this TED talk by Dan Harris (author of 10% Happier) he tells a highly entertaining story about how he figured out that the root of his disastrous 360 corporate review was the fact that he was really mean to himself on the regular.
He describes how his participation in a 9-day Loving Kindness meditation retreat moved him from the “Toilet Vortex” spiral, where you project your inner criticisms on the people around you (not nice and/or fun for you or anyone around you), to the “Cheesy Upward Spiral” where having your own back, and not being a jerk to yourself, extends to the people and relationships around you, thereby making your life infinitely better.
He goes on to describe a simple Loving Kindness meditation that can have a profound effect on you and yours.
Dan’s talk will make you laugh out loud and might even inspire you to try a little loving kindness practice with yourself. Check out his talk here on youtube and please share your thoughts about this with us. We are all guilty of self-flagellation from time to time; wouldn’t we all be happier if only we were kinder to ourselves?
Something to Do
Take a hike.
No, really!
This time of year the weather is perfection, the trees are glorious, and there is nothing like fresh, crisp air to clear our minds and make way for loving self-reflection.
If you want to level up your hike, take the Loving Kindness meditation instructions at the end of Dan Harris’s TED talk out onto the path and see how you feel when you’re done.
Something to See
Having spent the weekend in Vermont, I noticed that the leaves on the trees were changing color daily. Every morning, the color palette was just slightly more varied than the day before. I think if you don’t pay close attention, changes like this sneak up on you – even if they are happening slowly and steadily over time. Perhaps we need to boost our self-awareness about ourselves and how we’re showing up to see how we change over time – in ways we intend and perhaps ways we do not.