Special characters have become a popular tool in communication shorthand.  When we instant message or e-mail on a mobile device, special characters come to the rescue of our overworked thumbs.  People far more creative than I combine special characters to make silly –  sometimes baffling  – new  emoticons to pepper our communications.

And don’t forget the use of character strings to barely hide a profanity in text.  Did you think I was doing that in the heading, above?  No! No!  I would never!

While these applications of special characters can be useful, adorable, fast, and funny they aren’t appropriate for more formal communication.  E-mail, posters, intranet sites, and newsletters all qualify as formal communication in the business context.

Even without the creative spin on special characters, some simply shouldn’t show up in our business communications.  I’m thinking mostly about the ampersand.  That this character: &. It mean and.  FYI – you  can use Replace All in Word to correct that in any documents you’ve created.

Your local style guide can tell you more about special characters. For example, the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications lists them in the section called Common Style Problems > Names of Special Characters.  While you’re there, perhaps you’ll find a common style problem you’ve been having.  Anything that makes your readers shake their heads and grumble, “@ & { } > \” definitely qualifies.  ;  )