How can I disable the smiley faces Lync generates?

In a conversation recently I tried to paste a code sample into a Lync window to send to a colleague. Something like:

$env:PATH += ";C:\Your\Path\Here"

Unfortunately, Lync interpreted :P as a "sticking one's tongue out" smiley face, and produced a message like this:

Is there anything I can do to prevent Lync from turning this into a smiley face?

Try this:

1. Click on the Settings gear icon
2. Hover over Tools
3. Click on Options
4. Click on the General tab
5. Uncheck "Show emoticons in instant messages"

As you, rightly mentioned in your comment, you will have to do the same on your co-worker's PC as well because this only affects settings of Lync running on your machine.