TEXTING ERROR

Do you know what most people screw-up when texting?

Remember when texting took forever because you had to painstakingly enter the message on a numerical keypad? Nearly 30 years later (wowza!), texting is fast, convenient, and the norm. It has dramatically changed the way we communicate.

Just because we text all the time, doesn’t mean we do it correctly. Do you know what most people screw-up when texting? 

There is an entire etiquette to texting. When to text. Who to text. How often to text. How quickly to respond. When to use slang. Texting is its own unique form of communication! The most overlooked detail—and something most people screw-up—is forgetting to provide your name when texting someone for the first time.

This has very likely happened to you! You receive a text from someone who clearly knows you, but you have no idea who it is. Awkward! What do we do?

• If you are the text sender: Don’t assume people have your contact information. People change phones, lose numbers, have kids who test the phone’s ability to float in the tub (ugh!). If you haven’t text someone in a while, include your name in your text. It might look something like this: “Hi Ava, this is Deborah King. We talked about meeting for lunch. Would Wednesday at noon work for you?”
• If you are the text recipient: Be gracious, up front, and don’t guess! Kindly ask the sender, “May I ask who this is?”

The basics of good communication remain the same regardless of the delivery method. We want others to feel valued and heard, which starts by knowing who you are talking to!