diff --git a/addons/mail/static/src/emoji_picker/emoji_picker.js b/addons/mail/static/src/emoji_picker/emoji_picker.js
index c9137ea10af..10ffd4dd36a 100644
--- a/addons/mail/static/src/emoji_picker/emoji_picker.js
+++ b/addons/mail/static/src/emoji_picker/emoji_picker.js
@@ -295,8 +295,10 @@ export class EmojiPicker extends Component {
         this.recent[codepoints]++;
         browser.localStorage.setItem("mail.emoji.frequent", JSON.stringify(this.recent));
         this.gridRef.el.scrollTop = 0;
-        this.props.close();
-        this.props.onClose();
+        if (!ev.shiftKey) {
+            this.props.close();
+            this.props.onClose();
+        }
     }
 
     highlightActiveCategory() {
diff --git a/addons/mail/static/src/emoji_picker/emoji_picker.xml b/addons/mail/static/src/emoji_picker/emoji_picker.xml
index 6d7a2be13f3..d8053859097 100644
--- a/addons/mail/static/src/emoji_picker/emoji_picker.xml
+++ b/addons/mail/static/src/emoji_picker/emoji_picker.xml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
                 <hr class="mx-2 my-0 text-muted"/>
             </div>
             <t t-set="itemIndex" t-value="0"/>
-            <div class="o-mail-EmojiPicker-content overflow-auto d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center" t-att-class="getEmojis().length === 0 ? 'flex-column justify-content-center' : 'align-content-start'" t-ref="emoji-grid" t-on-scroll="highlightActiveCategory">
+            <div class="o-mail-EmojiPicker-content overflow-auto d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center user-select-none" t-att-class="getEmojis().length === 0 ? 'flex-column justify-content-center' : 'align-content-start'" t-ref="emoji-grid" t-on-scroll="highlightActiveCategory">
                 <t t-if="state.searchStr and getEmojis().length === 0" class="d-flex flex-column">
                     <span class="o-mail-EmojiPicker-empty">😢</span>
                     <span class="fs-5 text-muted">No emoji match your search</span>
diff --git a/addons/mail/static/tests/emoji/emoji_tests.js b/addons/mail/static/tests/emoji/emoji_tests.js
index bd5eb35b70c..fa68557a25b 100644
--- a/addons/mail/static/tests/emoji/emoji_tests.js
+++ b/addons/mail/static/tests/emoji/emoji_tests.js
@@ -150,3 +150,21 @@ QUnit.test("first category should be highlight by default", async (assert) => {
     await click("button[aria-label='Emojis']");
     assert.containsOnce($, ".o-mail-EmojiPicker-header .o-mail-Emoji:eq(0).bg-300");
 });
+
+QUnit.test(
+    "selecting an emoji while holding down the Shift key prevents the emoji picker from closing",
+    async (assert) => {
+        const pyEnv = await startServer();
+        const channelId = pyEnv["discuss.channel"].create({ name: "" });
+        const { openDiscuss } = await start();
+        await openDiscuss(channelId);
+        await click("button[aria-label='Emojis']");
+        await afterNextRender(() =>
+            $(".o-mail-EmojiPicker-content .o-mail-Emoji:contains(👺)")[0].dispatchEvent(
+                new MouseEvent("click", { shiftKey: true })
+            )
+        );
+        assert.containsOnce($, ".o-mail-EmojiPicker");
+        assert.strictEqual($(".o-mail-Composer-input").val(), "👺");
+    }
+);