In the absence of body language, communication on the internet is largely dependent on the spoken or written word, which for business communication is precisely just what is necessary. However, latest technological innovations have imitated a large part of social life on computer programs that induced people to forego physical interaction to a more convenient, cost-efficient and a lot exciting virtual counterpart. You need not embark on a world-tour just to develop a multi-racial network of friends; social networking sites, online gaming and thousands of discussion boards and forums can easily open the flood gates of profiles on your laptop that soon enough you would have your own version of the United Nations.

But how would one person who speaks Mandarin all his life would clearly understand someone from France? Even two people who speak the same language, and live in the same house can misunderstand one another, or divorce would not have been an issue.

Putting it simply, language barrier is a challenge; words are not enough to express what one wishes to convey, and in the absence of body language on the internet, communication runs the short course of either taken for something else or flatly not understood at all. This is where free smileys or emoticons can come to your rescue.

Email Smileys or animated emoticons were conceived out of the same need to find a means to express approval or disgust, when words are too lame to convey it. In the absence of hand signals or body language, which can make communication more effortless, smiley icons or emoticons have been proven to work.

Here then are 12 tips on how to master the art of communicating with email smileys:

1. Email smileys are off-limits to business emails;

2. Choose email smileys that come in different sizes -small, medium or large - to clearly express the intensity level of your own emotions;

3. Do not send email smileys or animated emoticons in your first email; the recipient may not share your optimism in using email smileys;

4. Exercise restraint when sending email smileys; you would not want to send a kissing smiley when you barely know the other person, would you?

5. As much as words, be careful with how you choose email smileys. Take into account another person's race, religion, sexual orientation, customs and traditions when sending smileys in your emails;

6. Do not use email smileys to harass or insult another person;

7. Do not send too many smileys in your emails; too much of anything repels, instead of attract;

8. Choose email smileys that are compatible with most email servers, such as Yahoo!Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, AOL, Earthlink, and Comcast. You would not want smileys that restrict your choice of email client to use, depending on your own convenience.

9. Do not patronize email smileys that have spyware or adware on them;

10. When you grow accustomed to using email smileys, you will appreciate more their use and the impact they provide your communication; seek out a subscription, rather than the free service.

Today, smiley icons have evolved from simple textual images to becoming a lot of characters with more expressions for everyone to use. Most email smileys can be downloaded on your desktop for free however, to fully maximize the benefits that you can derive from their use, you should opt for a full service, which you can pay in exchange for a wider range of emoticons.
Nothing replaces good communication, and if email smileys help out in clearing the channels for you, a few dollars each month on subscription fees for smileys pay off in the long run.

Mastering the art of communicating with email smileys is simple, provided you follow one rule: if you are not certain, don't send.

Smiley icons serve as just accessories to communication; aids to it when words seem hard to find, but there is no way you would allow your message to get construed falsely by sending an inappropriate smiley.