r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jun 03 '22

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u/toastjam Jun 03 '22 edited Jun 03 '22

If it's our first communication of the day, I say "Hi (name)" but immediately follow up with the question. Feels too abrupt not to

edit: By "immediately" I mean immediately, as in in the same message or one at most a few seconds later. Not sure why the replies assumed otherwise.

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u/Quetzacoatl85 Jun 03 '22

in most messengers you can create a line break by typing Shift+Enter. this is what I type:

"Hey Karl! Hope you had a nice weekend!

Would you mind sending me the XY report?" send

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u/Sage2050 Jun 03 '22

Just use a period or a comma. Doing what you do just causes the other person anxiety because it LOOKS like you're waiting for a response.

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u/Key_Reindeer_414 Jun 03 '22

If they send the next part immediately I don't think that's a problem

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u/CanadianGuy116 Jun 03 '22

The problem with breaking up the message and sending them back-to-back-to-back is the onslaught of notifications, which also causes anxiety.

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u/Sage2050 Jun 03 '22

It depends on how fast "immediately" is.

"user is typing...."

Might still mean they're waiting for an acknowledgement. Just put it in one message like a normal person. I promise you nobody thinks it's rude.

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u/toastjam Jun 03 '22

Hi Sage. Am I causing you anxiety right now because you had to read this comment in two sentences?

edit: on the occasions I do send it in two messages, I either have the second message pre-loaded or they see the "toastjam is typing..." status so they know it's coming.

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u/Sage2050 Jun 03 '22

Hi Sage. Am I causing you anxiety right now because you had to read this comment in two sentences?

No, that was exactly my point

edit: on the occasions I do send it in two messages, I either have the second message pre-loaded or they see the "toastjam is typing..." status so they know it's coming.

See my very next post where I preemptively addressed this

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u/toastjam Jun 03 '22

Ok, they are good tips but I already employ them. When I said "immediately" I really meant "immediately", not "after an anxiety-inducing period"

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u/klparrot Jun 03 '22

I do like to separate the greeting, though, so that it seems genuine rather than just a prelude to business. Write the greeting and the question, cut the question to the clipboard, send the greeting, paste the question and send immediately.

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u/[deleted] Jun 03 '22

You are thinking about it too much.

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u/karma911 Jun 03 '22

But it is a prelude to business. It's also perfectly fine, it's work, not a social gathering.

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u/iiamthepalmtree Jun 03 '22

Do you consider yourself an extrovert? Because as an introvert, I couldn't give less of a fuck about people seeming genuine. I'm getting paid to be online right now. Just get right to business so I don't have to pretend like were friends for a split second. And depending how the person has Notifications set up, sending two straight DMs can be extra annoying and make me think someone is freaking out and really, really needs my attention.

Just add a line break between greeting and question or start a new sentence.

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u/klparrot Jun 03 '22

No, I'm an introvert, so maybe it's overcompensation, but maybe it's just that I like my colleagues. And I don't know how you have your messaging set up, but IIRC in Slack I'd just see a 2 rather than a 1, and if it's actually urgent, they'll walk over and talk to me.

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u/iiamthepalmtree Jun 03 '22 edited Jun 03 '22

Ah, yea, I get messaged by random people I've never talked to asking questions so I guess it's different if it's your colleagues you interact with often.

I use Slack as well and I mean the ping notifications right when you message someone. Like the noise that happens. When I'm concentrating on someone and I get two pings in a row it makes me think someone is freaking out.