Using the Windows 10 Emoji Keyboard

Windows 10 now gives you the ability to use your keyboard to insert an Emoji into text.

Emoji got its start in Japan. The Work “emoji” can be translated to “image character.” The first emoji was created in 1999 by Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita. They have grown in use, especially with smartphones, texting, and social platform posts. For example, it’s common to use ?or ? to acknowledge a text message.

While we are not necessarily promoting using emojis in business communication, there may be situations where they are appropriate.

To access the Windows Emoji keyboard, press Win + period (.) or Win + semicolon (;) and the menu will pop up. Once the window is visible, you can press Tab/Shift+Tab to switch categories and switch skin colors for people Emoji with the button on the top right of the panel.

It may seem like a small addition, but emoji are becoming a more significant part of daily communications, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to communicate the same way on your desktop as you do on your phone. Just don’t go crazy ?! Remember the difference between business communication and informal communication.

Would you ever use emoji in your communication? If yes, when or how?