Much has been written about the frustration of sending and receiving texts. We hear about how dictation fails, how we often don't hear a reply back in any reasonable amount of time, or that it's impossible to have privacy with the constant interruption of other calls/texts. Texting is being given a bad reputation by the very people who use it for it's convenience, and it does not have to be that way.
There is true beauty in the communication of texting, and when it is embraced it can be very rewarding. The problem seems to be that we have used texting as a means to express ourselves in snippets of broken dialogue and emotion, rather than to actually formulate thoughts through complete sentences. This led me to my own personal experiment to see how I might use this communication to enrich my life and add something positive to my relationships when communicating. The results are encouraging enough to share.
I decided my approach would be to slow everything down when it came to typing a text, and to make a point to have one conversation happening at a time with one person. That time we spent texting would be a complete conversation, as though we were on the phone or in person. It would have a beginning, middle and an end, and could include images or links in the conversation.
My experiment lasted three days and I refrained from answering any other texts unless they were of an emergency nature. I checked in and out right away and then returned to my original conversation. I found myself feeling less stressed, and as a result, I had fewer typos and less slang. We were formulating entire thoughts that were whole and complete. I also came away from each conversation setting a better tone with the person I was texting with.
These tips for texting are what I used and they may help you:
1.Only text with one person or conversation at a time, and don't try to multitask.
2.Sit down when you text and give yourself the time to enjoy (or clarify) what you are typing.
3.You can usually tell when someone is typing text back to you by a message or a series of dots that come up on your device. Hold off responding until they have finished typing their thought and sent it to you to read.
4.Always answer, and if you suddenly don't get a return text, exercise some patience before texting them. The time a text pops up varies with each phone and each provider.
5.Change the alert sound to something you like to hear. It serves no purpose to be interrupted by a sound you don't like!
I found these tips helpful to my daily dealings with the public, as they improved my skills and the quality of how I connect with the people who come into my life.