How To Tell Someone Something

     Have you ever needed to tell someone something, but was not sure how to do it?  Hopefully this will give you some ideas:

     First of all, if it has ANYTHING to do with a relationship, you do it RIGHT TO THEIR FACE.  None of this calling on the phone, writing a letter, emailing, or texting crap.  If you have to say something regarding your feelings about someone, you have the decency to do it to their FACE.  Not much is worse than getting a text: “wanted u 2 no its over between the 2 of us. l8r.”

     When you have a piece of news to tell someone that is urgent or needs to be acted on quickly, that is another matter where I recommend talking to the person directly.  Depending on the situation, a phone call may be acceptable.  If the person will be floored and the sheer shock of the news may put the person at risk, then speaking with the person in person may be best.

     Before putting anything on the internet, think about it.  That is a permanent record that will be there a FOREVER.  Even if you delete it, it can be recovered.  Do not post anything you are not comfortable with the whole world knowing.  Pretend you are writing for your grandmother to read.  If she would be upset, don’t post it.  Even if your settings are on “private,” people have access to what you post.

     Taking that into consideration, if you are debating how to inform your friends or family about something (you don’t care who finds out in the long run) about, posting about it nonchalantly on a social networking site is one way to go.  “Really nervous for my test later.  Hope I pass this time.”  Now something like this does not substitute for telling someone something.  There is no guarantee that the intended person will even read it, let alone get the full message.  But it is a nice way to break the ice.  Your dad might ask you later that week “so how did your test go?”  This would be a perfect time to tell him you are dropping out of high school to join the circus.  Each to his own.

     If a message goes unmentioned for a week or more, either try posting again (more direct this time), or in another location.  Perhaps the person you are calling out to is not stalking you on ALL of your social networking accounts.  It does not mean that they are not listening.  In today’s day in age we think that everyone is listening to EVERYTHING we have to say.  NOT always the case.

     The last thing you can do on the internet is to blog about it.  You can write all you want about how much you LOVE Paris, and cannot wait to return.  Then you can come right out and tell the “world” (whoever reads your blog: aka not as many people as you think) all about your plans to study abroad there this summer JUST so you can go again.

     Why the heck not?  They may or may not be reading, and you can get everything you could not muster the courage to say out.  If they read it, great, you told them.  If not, then you may just have to find the most understanding person to talk with first (I suggest a friend or close sibling before breaking into the weak parent).

     Nothing substitutes talking with someone in person, but sometimes you just need to buy yourself some time.  Hope this helps point you in the right direction (if at the very least you never break up with someone via text message).  Good luck!

DISCLAIMER: Not a psychologist, and not responsible for any fall-out of advice. Use to discretion.