Advanced Text Game: The Proper Use of Emoticons

text gameI’ve been studying the art of text communication for a very long time. I hate talking on the phone, to be honest. I had to get used to the idea of talking on the phone because I knew I would get more dates out of it. I wanted to ensure that my text game was tight. I used to try to go for dates over text… I had a lot of wasted numbers. This was good: it was a major point of growth for me I began to see patterns in the texts that I was sending and receiving.

I believe in self experimentation. Trying something and seeing if it works for yourself is money. You can’t fully believe everything you hear. I find that some forums have guys posting who have no idea what they’re talking about, just to validate their identity that they’re contributing to a purpose. In my personal opinion, I believe you should be able to walk the walk before you can teach the talk.

During the development of my text game, I did a lot of experimentation. My goal was to find the most efficient process to messaging. I wanted to ensure that I had less flakes and more dates. There were many interesting things I noticed, that made a massive difference in my text game. This article collection is to compile all of the little things into one place.

The Improper Use of “LOL”

“Haha” and “lol” are used alot in messages between people these days. These words communicate a sense of humor, a playful demeanor. I found that these words are extremely ineffective when communicating with new connections. Typing these words ensured that I received less responses.

Typical text messages include “haha” and “lol” in many of the messages. I began thinking about the purpose of words like these. What do they actually add to the message? I’ve found that by adding words like these, it takes away from the content of the message.

reacting to people

Think of a stand up comedian. After he tells a joke, he isn’t laughing at his own joke. When he reacts to his own joke, it’s communicating that he’s not expecting a reaction from the crowd. This insecurity is sensed from the crowd, and the best comedians know that reacting to their own jokes isn’t the best way to elicit a positive crowd response.

The best stand up comedians keep a straight face, or a slight grin when delivering their joke. It’s as if they know it’s going to be funny, so instead of laughing at their own joke they deliver the joke with a slight smirk. The Continued Connection talks about how you can relate real – life communication concepts to technology. Using the smirk over laughing at your own joke applies to messaging.

The Effective Use of Emoticons

Brian: Hey dork. hows your day??

This type of message would have to be communicated in a tone that says “playful”. The one downside of text messaging, or email, is that they have the highest chance of misinterpretation. You cannot have a playful tone of voice through a text message, and this message may be misinterpreted as demeaning. Even with playful intent, when you send a message like this the outcome will often be negative.

Brian: Hey dork haha. Hows your day??

text gameA message like the one above is a level up from the first message. This type of message communicates that you’re joking, but also in a way that reacts to your own joke. This type if message is not the most efficient way to get a response.

Brian: Hey dork 😛 hows your day??

This type of response allows her to see that I’m joking around, and removes any possibility of mis – communication. The functional use of emoticons is powerful. In your text and messaging conversations, try to take out as many “LOL’s” and “HAHA’s” as possible, and replace them with emoticons that are congruent to the message. The smallest tweak has the greatest impact.

This simple idea will guarantee more responses. Remaining unreactive to your own comedy allows the other person a chance to laugh at your joke. Replacing all of your “haha” and “lol” with an emoticon is a small tweak that will GUARANTEE a massive increase in the amount of responses you receive.

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