I follow 5 basic rules when I’m talking to someone for the first time, no matter the reason. Using these 5 rules, I’ve made some lasting friendships, dated a few men, obtained steady business, and weeded out the phonies. I don’t even want to share these rules because they’re so good. But I’m going to.
Some of these you may remember from previous articles I’ve written, so I won’t re-explain them all. However, I will provide you some link-love back to the other articles to read more in depth about some …

In a recent article, Kim pointed out some of the must know shorthand lingo. I am not discounting her. Every form of shorthand she mentioned is surely something that you need to know to keep up with conversations. However, not every instance is one in which shorthanded forms of words or phrases should be used.
Rule of thumb: If you can fit the word into the text message / Tweet (Twitter message) without shortening the word, then use the full form of the word. This basically leaves out using shorthand in …

More often than not, my number one complaint about potential relationships, romantic and business alike is that the person played “20 Questions” with me. The questions include anything from “How are you?”, to “How old are you?”, to “What’s your middle name?”, to “What’s your favorite color.” There is nothing overly intrusive (usually), but also nothing of substance.
Hey, here’s a secret – People love to talk about themselves. Surprise! They like to talk about themselves more so if they feel that other people want to know about them. So, that …

If you are new to the internet, or interacting with people on the World Wide Web, then chances are you have seen some acronyms out there that you probably did not know what they meant.
But that is okay, because at e-swagger, we got you covered.
Although deciphering acronyms is like learning addition for some people, for many people, it just never clicks, or it is never really explained.
So here they are, in all their simplicity—a list of the top 5 acronyms used on the web.
5. TTYL – Talk to you later
This …

One of the most unfortunate things that can happen during a conversation is the dreaded “awkward silence”. This is arguably more uncomfortable when it happens in a face-to-face situation, but nevertheless it is something that is incredibly scary, and is often considered the beginning of the end of any conversation, face-to-face and e-chat alike.
It is very important to keep a conversation going. Whether you’re across the table, or across the country from your chatting partner, you want to be sure the conversation streams smoothly and transitions from topic to topic. …