Keep text messages positive

Text messages are easy to misinterpret. Because tone is hard to convey, negativity has a tendency to quickly spiral out of control. If you're going to be critical, pick up the phone and call, to be sure that you're understood properly.

Too many people get into arguments over text messages. From what I've seen, most misunderstandings boil down to someone not thinking through a response carefully. But unfortunately, this shouldn't be surprising given the expectation for real-time responses. If you need time to think, respond with a quick "roger" to acknowledge the message. This avoids over analysis of your delayed response, which can also lead to unnecessary negativity.

If you're quick to assume the worst interpretation, you likely have deeper relationship issues that need to be worked out. Give people the benefit of the doubt before sending a nastygram.