Communicate Online
Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Facebook, Twitter, blogs, chat and so forth are part of our everyday online sources of interaction. And every day we try to communicate with our friends online but are they they are hearing a different message from the one you're putting across? It's easy to make mistakes of communication in the online environment where our connection is down wires rather than face-to-face.
It's important to maintain the kind regards you have towards your real-life friends online by making sure that you're actually saying what you mean to say, effectively.
Steps
- Stay current with Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Facebook statuses and Twitter updates.
- Did you know that everything we say to someone via updates on social media sites is a request for a response?
- When you want to share a status think what kind of response you'd like. Here are some of the responses you might be looking for:
- A connection like "Me too!"
- Understanding such as "I'm glad to know that about you."
- A reaction like "Ha Ha :)"
- "'Advice such as "Have you tried ____"
- A response of what they think, such as "I think that's nice"
- An action like "I will do that."
- Sympathy such as "Poor You :("
- Empathy with something like "I understand your pain".
- Think about what you think you are looking for. Write with the response you're seeking in mind. Make it clear what kind of action you want the readers to take if you're looking for something specific.
- Write updates, posts and statuses.
- Less is more most of the time. Unless you have a huge fanbase and you're trying to sell something or have something exciting happening in your life (such as going into labor), limit your updates to one a day or even less.
- Someone who updates multiple times a day gives the image of being bored, lonely, depressed or selfish. Now, those things might be true about you but if you really need connection with others, don't make it a negative one. Show them that you care about them and they'll reciprocate.
- A well thought out status every once in a while gives the image of a wise, insightful person who has a fulfilling life offline.
- Comment.
- Be responsive. Just as everything you say is asking for a response, everything your friends say is looking for a response, verbal and non-verbal.
- When you read someone's status ask yourself: What is this person asking of me?
- Of course, it isn't always clear what the person wants. One way to figure it out is to put yourself in their shoes, figure out what you know of their situation, and decide what you'd like in the same situation. Another way is to send a private message. "Are you looking for advice?" is a good message to find out what they might be asking. They'll likely say "No. I was just putting it out there (understanding/connection)" or "Yes. What do you suggest?"
- Once you think you know what they want, give it to them. Here are some examples of what you might write if they are looking for:
- Connection: Really? I know. Same here. I remember...
- Understanding: Tell me more. What happened? How's it going now?
- A reaction: LOL! ROFL! I just threw up in my mouth. TMI! "Like"
- Advice: What worked for me was... My mom tried... Whatever you do DON'T..
- What you think: I love it! That does not appeal to me. That reminds me of...
- Action: I just clicked on the link. I'll repost. (ignore if you're not going to do anything)
- Sympathy: Poor guy! That must have been disgusting! Get well soon.
- Empathy: I've had that before, no fun. I can tell this is really bothering you.
- Post photos.
- Show your friends that you care about them when you post a photo album by:
- Limiting the photos to the very best of the series.
- 15 interesting photos is more pleasurable to look than 120 random ones.
- Write captions on all of the photos to describe what is going on.
- Take time to tag people - it shows you care.
- Limiting the photos to the very best of the series.
- If you went on a fabulous vacation, your first instinct may be to share every glorious detail, which can be interesting to some people, but if you really want to make your friends less envious, tag them in specific photos and tell them you thought about them when you were there.
- If you did something adventurous, go crazy and show as many photos as you want - just add captions. People love living dangerously through you in the comfort of being behind their computer screen.
- Show your friends that you care about them when you post a photo album by:
- Deal carefully but assertively with obnoxious friends. If there is a particular person that makes your blood boil whenever you read their posts, you have three choices:
- Block/unfriend them
- Ignore them
- Empathize with them: Ask yourself what might they be needing by writing this post? Although you might want to avoid commenting on their posts, your attitude may change.
- Use emoticons to express what you mean.
- If you're not a descriptive enough writer to express your tone with choice of vocabulary alone, opt to use emoticons.
- Simple ones include - : + )= Happy, :+(=sad, ;+)=joking, <hug>= hug.
- Don't overdo it. For some people, too many emoticons is a sign of immaturity. Less is more.
- If you don't have anything nice to type, don't type it at all!
- Be aware that keeping in touch with people online can be really hard.
- Life gets busy on both sides. One thing that really helps is not looking at it as e-mailing, Facebooking, Skyping, or calling when you have some free time. Schedule the person in, no matter how you are going to communicate, as if you were going out with that person for dinner, catching up for coffee, or going to their house. You have to treat them as you would if you were getting together in person. That time is their time and you can really give yourself to them.
Things You'll Need
- Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Facebook, Twitter, etc.
