Social media has become ubiquitous. It is everywhere, and it seems like it's going to replace more forms of human interaction. But social media is far from the best way to interact with people, it's also bad for business.
Attention spans and productivity has dropped as social media apps have now become extremely addictive. Millions, if not billions, spend their days glued to their screens and the magnitude of the adverse effects are unimaginably great. Hence, you will not only be excused, but also lauded for deciding to cut off social media.
But it might seem like there'll be a trade-off, because when you're quitting social media, you're letting go of your contacts over there. In this post, we'll try to address this situation and show you how to deal with it. Here's how to contact someone without social media
While social media has made staying in touch with people easier, it also has reduced the number of interactions you can have with someone at once.
If you want to contact someone without using social media, there are several ways to do so.
Make use of old-fashioned methods like email and text messaging. Even if they don't offer voice calling, apps such as Skype and FaceTime allow you to talk for free.
Put up signs that say “wants chat” and go out to local places to meet people.
Look around for activities you might spend your time on. Find things that appeal to you and see what you enjoy most.
Keep trying different approaches until you find what works best for both of you. Yours may be teaching classes, sports, music, theater – anything really. It's just got to be something that makes you happy.
There’s a reason that calling someone is the most common way to contact them. It’s simple, it works, and it’s what people know how to do.
However, there are times when something simpler isn’t possible or even desirable. Sometimes you need to send a message directly to a person, only they have no smartphone, don’t know how to type, and/or don’t have an internet connection.
In these situations, where information technology is unavailable, you can try one of the other methods for contacting a person.
Each of the following methods of communication has its advantages and disadvantages:
You can look up the phone numbers for all phones in a directory. However, there’s no guarantee that anyone will pick up the call. Also, sometimes telephone services are expensive (if they provide them at all).
Other times, things get messy very quickly. You may also encounter some people who don’t understand the concept of telephone, and might make mistakes more easily.
These days, with cell phones, this method is mostly used for communicating with customers while they’re still far away from their computers.
You can use text messaging, which is like email but via cellphone. Each carrier has its own codes and ways to format messages.
And then there’s voice mail. This is similar to texting, but instead of typing words, you speak words. Then the caller (or listener) gets a recorded message.
We live in an era of easily accessible information. People are constantly connected, logging onto Facebook or tweeting or texting their friends. Sometimes it can be difficult to have a conversation with others.
You can make things easier for yourself by always leaving a message instead of asking for what you want right away. The phone may ring more often these days, as people try to reach us when they need help.
If you work somewhere, talk about your priorities. You might tell your boss that you’re feeling stuck and wonder if there’s something better you could do with your time. Then spend some time thinking about your answers.
Maybe you were distracted at lunchtime trying to get back into writing mode, but you had a great chat with someone and now you’re inspired again. Let them know!
It sounds silly, but sending a written note is even better than giving a speech in person. Write down what you want to say and send it before you run out of ideas.
You will feel less nervous because you don’t have to wait for anyone to respond to your messages. That said, responding to texts and emails takes extra time, so do this when you have a lot of time to relax.
You meet someone new or return an old friend’s call by saying either “I'm busy right now” or “I'd love to, but…” It's their chance to extend a friendship.
But we can't always get what we want.
So how do we enjoy this? How do we take the fun out of skipping classes, going for runs, writing letters and calling people? By being mindful about our commitments – and aware that it's OK to say no.
It may not be easy at first, but eventually you will make room in your schedule for these activities. You're also coming off a period where you were constantly available — emailing friends, answering phone calls and returning messages left everywhere.
More often than not, people do not have enough time or money to give them something nice. If you know someone is going into a stressful situation, like going on a big interview or a surgery coming up, you can help them get rid of their stress by sending them an easy gift.
An easy way to make someone’s day is to send them a personalized message. You can use social media to find information about your target audience (like where they went to school or what sports they play) and create a custom message for them.
Email works too, but it may be more painful for the receiver. With email, there’s no communication channel, so the sender has to communicate through any means that the recipient wants to respond. It takes extra work to prepare messages for different types of media.
Simple gifts are fun to receive because you don’t have to put in as much effort reading between the lines. They are straightforward, which many people enjoy.
Give a gift that says what you want them to say. A lot of gifts this season are one-size-fits-all. Make a return visit and customize a gift if you want to see how they react to a surprise gift.
Though it may be difficult to contact someone without social media, making calls or sending letters is not dead yet!
There are many ways to reach out to people who do not have digital access to you. If they’re not online, there are other options for communication, such as community mailboxes, postal mail, and faxes.
Letters and emails still work if you know how to use them! And even though we express love via text these days, writing a letter doesn’t require any more skill than texting; some people find letter writing meditative, even soothing.
By hand-writing messages, customers keep their business with your company more personalized. It's more effort upfront, but this method costs much less.
When having a conversation, try to focus on one person at a time.
It makes things easier if you aren’t worried about who heard what at last night’s dinner party. Just small talks such as where they’ve been, how was school, etc.
Another way to get info from someone is by doing exactly what you want to find out. Yes, this does mean talking to them.
But it also means asking questions to figure out why they're so motivated in their career and what they’re seeking in life.
Finding answers to these questions doesn’t have to cost you anything. Figuring out their goals could end up being free stuff!
We live in a world that has reduced the connection between people, especially across geographical distances. Technology makes it possible for us to stay in contact with others, but we often do not know what they are really like. When we connect through social media or other means of communication, we use different representations of their personalities.
We choose photos that show nothing about someone’s appearance or style. Videos can sometimes reveal something, but there is no way to see everything when using video.
By telling someone how you are, you may help them get to know you better. Try talking more freely than usual without giving things away. You will make your partner feel comfortable if you tell them why you want to talk.
Make sure you don’t keep these conversations short; try saying as much as you would say over dinner then back off and let them ask questions or probe the topic some more.
When you contact someone for the first time, being consistently engaging is key to building trust in your brand and company.
You want to make it easy for them to find you and what you have to say once they’ve added you to their list of contacts. And you want to make it easy for them to reach you so that they don’t go searching for your contact information somewhere else.
Consistency isn’t just about repeating yourself either. It also means keeping all relationships with this person consistent. From emailing them regularly to text messaging them often, making sure there’s an atmosphere of engagement.
This way when you do meet up or talk with them over phone, you know what standards are going to be applied.
