First impressions are everything. In the realm of online dating, these words still hold true. With this in mind, what is your first interaction with that potential lover? Your message, right? Which is why you need to be diligent when it comes to messaging. You want to have an engaging conversation with this person which will eventually lead to a date.
Oftentimes, people struggle with this stage and it isn’t necessarily because they have the social skills of a turnip; it’s because the online dating interaction is much different from the face-to-face interaction. Your messages are not always understood by the recipient as you intended them and as such, rules are needed. I have comprised 5 winning rules for online messaging etiquette:
Rule 1
Give to your conversation what you would your future relationship.
In other words, don’t skimp on your messaging effort. The man or woman you are conversing with might just be your soulmate. Avoid responding to them or greeting them with a simple “Hi”. These interactions will cause the conversation to fall flat, fast. While these greetings are appropriate in a face-to-face interaction, online dating is much different and we need to use conversationally rich messages.
Rule 2
Questions are your best friend, use them often.
Direct questions are always going to be the bread and butter of online dating conversation. Try to avoid “dry” questions like, “How are you?” These won’t get the responses you are looking for. Include questions that are geared toward their profile. Consider reading through their profile and asking questions that would naturally come up. “It says you like traveling, which are your favorite places to travel?” Feel free to include your favorite places to travel with this question. Someone who is passionate about this will give you more than enough to talk about.
Rule 3
Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many conversations at once.
It can be tempting to try to interact with as many people as possible to get the quickest result. The problem with this is that you won’t give your best effort. Try to limit your potential interests to a few. This way you can focus better on conversation topics.
Rule 4
Give your best effort for a timely response.
Time can evade us all. If communicating with someone online, try to make your best effort to reply promptly if interested. I highly suggest you respond within 24 hours.
Rule 5
Show enthusiasm with punctuation.
“That’s exciting! I love The Walking Dead too!” Isn’t that much better to read than, “I like that show too.”? Feel free to go wild with your enthusiasm. It shows the other person you are engaged with the conversation. This enthusiasm can also be flattering.
