Byron's Babbles

This is the second of six great guest blog posts from the teacher leaders in our Focused Leader Academy. These guest posts are a result of a session yesterday on blogging as a leadership tool. We had been using the “through line” (a theme or idea that runs from the beginning to the end of one of our design sprints that has a connecting theme or plot) of Emojis, so it made sense to have the prompt of: Emojis: Benefit or Hindrance? Participants paired up and proceeded to write a blog post kowing I would be posting it as a guest post.

I am really hoping that these teacher leaders will open themselves up to be vulnerable and discover the self growth that can take place from using a blog as a personal journal. As a leadership tool this gives the blogger a way to communicate as a leader. Additionally, the blog also gives us an eventual library of prior thoughts and materials, always at our fingertips. The guest post here was written by Kristen Bauer and Lisa Schneider.

Enjoy Kristen and Lisa’s post:

Pick up your phone and take a look at the last emoji you used. What is it and what could it mean? My last emoji was 😬 in a tweet that reads “Don’t let perfection get in the way of a good blog 😬.”

An emoji can be beneficial or can be a hindrance. Here are our top 5 pluses and deltas of using an emoji:

1. Supportive/Inspirational-Whether it be 😘 or a 👍 these simple gestures can provide support to a friend in need.
2. Clarifying- An emoji can quickly add to and create the tone of the conversation.
3. Telling-Did you know that Siri reads emoji’s as exactly what they are? Take for example when your teenage daughter says to Siri “Call Caleb.” And Siri responds with “Calling Caleb fire, beating heart, face blowing kiss.” 🔥, 💕, 😘. That real life situation was very telling for my husband when he overheard our teenage daughter calling her boyfriend.
4. Misinterpreted-Could your emoji actually be a pinch to your reader? Have you ever gotten an unexplained winky face? 😜
5. Unprofessional/inappropriate-There is a time and a place for an emoji and its probably not in the work place.

So choose your emojis wisely. ☺