27 Tone Indicators and How to Use Them

In the digital world, understanding the true meaning behind our words can be tricky. Without intonations, gestures, and context, the intended tone can easily be misinterpreted. However, there's a simple solution: tone indicators. These small cues can make a big difference in ensuring clear communication.

But what are tone indicators, and how can you strategically use them to add context clues that prevent misunderstandings?  In this comprehensive guide, we'll list commonly used tone indicators and equip you with the skills to use them effectively. 

What Are Tone Indicators? 

Have you ever sent a text message—one you thought was friendly or playful—only to have it backfire and achieve the opposite result? Or perhaps you sent a sarcastic response to a co-worker or client that they interpreted as hostile or rude.

Tone indicators are small textual clues—alphabet symbols and visual tags—typically added to the end of text-based communication. These appendages to a text are preceded by a slash (/) and can make a significant difference in how a message is perceived and understood. 

Tone indicators help readers understand the intended meaning and emotion behind messages. Using tone indicators can provide clarity, context, and the desired tone that might be missing in text-based conversations.

Henry Denham introduced the first tone indicator in 1580 to aid readers in recognizing ironic expressions in written materials. This initial tone indicator was known as the percontation point, symbolized by a backward question mark. Denham intended for this symbol to represent a rhetorical question. However, its usage faded away during the 1700s.

Nowadays, tone indicators are primarily used in internet forums and chat rooms like Reddit and 4Chan. Over time, they gained popularity and soon made their way into mainstream communication channels like blogs and social media, where miscommunication and misunderstandings are common.

Why Use Tone Indicators? 

Human communication is tied to semantics, the study of how language has meaning. In any conversation between two parties, there are layers that add depth to the spoken words, including: 

Body Language 

The unspoken language of gestures, facial expressions and postures often communicates more meaning than words ever could. Subtle cues (like a raised eyebrow, crossed arms or a reassuring nod) add context, painting a clearer picture of the speaker's intent and emotional state.

Tone of Voice

The way we speak, with its ups and downs, emphasizing certain words and using pauses, adds a musical quality to our language. These vocal cues give spoken words their emotion and intention, something that written words alone often lack.

Conversational Context

The context is the setting where a conversation happens. Specific situations, personal characteristics, and cultural aspects influence it. These factors add complexity and shape the way people interact and communicate with each other.

Body language, tone and context work together in regular conversations to clarify the dialogue. However, when we switch to digital text-based communication, like SMS marketing, these helpful cues disappear, leaving us with a basic version of the original message.

This can create significant communication issues for remote teams and marketers trying to communicate with their audience. Per Forbes, the absence of these cues means that “text-based communication takes longer and requires more thought to arrive at a shared understanding. You have to think about what you’re writing to make sure it’s not misinterpreted.”

Tone indicators can help close the communications gap. 

Commonly Used Tone Indicators 

Tone tags are becoming part of the mainstream text dialogue. However, some tone indicators (such as the sarcasm tag “/s”) are used more commonly than others. That said, here’s a tone indicators list you can use for your SMS communications.

In addition, emojis have become a popular tone indicator in recent years that can also add further context to a message. 

Consider the sentence  “I just dropped my ice cream 😂” or “I just dropped my ice cream 😢”

With the first, there’s a more light-hearted tone where the speaker seems to be laughing at their own misfortune, suggesting that they find it comically relatable. The second version, however, conveys a sense of disappointment or sadness, with the speaker clearly feeling upset about losing their tasty treat. 

Guidelines for Using Tone Indicators

Generally speaking, tone indicators are relatively easy to use. And they can be applied to emails, texts, social media interactions and more. But before you do, keep the following tips in mind: 

• In two-way texting, place them at the end of the sentence or message to clarify the overall tone.
• Be wary of context. Certain tone indicators may be more appropriate for specific settings and groups. For example, romantic tone indicators (/r) should be used for personal communication, not for marketing purposes—unless your brand’s specifically geared for romantic messaging.
• Consider the audience, as some people may be unfamiliar with text acronyms, especially in business. 
• Stick to one or two indicators at most for any given message.  
• Tone indicators are an enhancement to good communication, not a substitute. You still want to be clear and thoughtful with your word choice. 
• If there’s any doubt about a particular sentiment, don’t hesitate to clarify what you meant or ask the sender to clarify. 

Using Tone Indicators in SMS Marketing with Textedly

Tone indicators are powerful tools to facilitate and enhance text-based communication—both for personal and business purposes. They can help the recipient to read between the lines, preventing mistakes and misunderstandings. 

Today, they’re a vital tool for inclusive communication, providing context to neurodivergent people and non-native English speakers who may already struggle to understand the tone of conversational communication, let alone text-based forms. 

At Textedly, text messaging marketing is what we do. Our SMS and MMS marketing solutions revolutionize the way your business communicates. And by adding tone indicators to your messages, you can ensure that nothing gets lost in translation.  

Sign up for a free Textedly trial today!