How Can I Get My Unresponsive Friends to Actually Return My Messages?

Dear Lifehacker,
I have a friend who sometimes doesn't reply to my emails, voicemails, or even texts. Or if she does, it takes ages. Is there any way to ensure she'll respond to them?

Signed,
Annoyed by No Replies

Dear Annoyed,
That sort of thing really bugs us too. We all have that friend or family member who's so impossible to get a hold of it feels like you're getting the cold shoulder. Assuming your friend isn't actually mad at you for some reason and wants to stay your friend, there may be a few ways to get your messages delivered?and responded to promptly (without feeling like a pest).

Make Sure You Send Your Messages at the Best Time for the Recipient

One possible reason why your friend never hits the reply button is simply the time you usually send your messages. If you friend is in school at night, for example, it's really easy for any late messages to go completely unnoticed?or opened and then forgotten about because she didn't have time to respond at that very moment. My family members tend to call me right at the start of my workday (for a reason I still don't understand), so, similarly, I end up leaving those calls to voicemail even though I would like to talk to them?later.

If you're sending an email, email marketing firm GetResponse analyzed 21 million email messages to find the best hours for sending emails (if you want them opened). Because the majority of emails land in the inbox in the morning, they say those sent in the afternoon have a greater chance of being opened and clicked on. Depending on the recipient, you probably should avoid sending emails during rush hour, child-bathing hour, and dinner time. Photo by GetResponse

Takeaway: If you want your messages to get more attention, try sending them when you know the person is least busy, if possible.

Some Types of Messages May Be Better Than Others

Similarly, you should send your messages in the best medium for the person. People who don't have their phones with them all the time can't be expected to quickly respond to all text messages. An avid Facebook or Twitter user, on the other hand, might reply more readily to a message on one of those social networks than, say, email. Photo by Ian Lamont

Even those who try to respond to all messages in a timely fashion (e.g., with the 2-2-2 rule) put email as a lower priority than texts, which is beneath phone calls. I'm not sure what the official stance is on IM priority, but I might put that above even phone calls.

If you are sending an email, though, you can boost its chances of being read and replied to if you follow good email etiquette: Keep your email concise (3-5 sentences if possible), be as descriptive as possible in the subject line (a killer subject line helps), remind the person of any previous conversations in case he/she has forgotten them, and make your request as direct and explicit as you can. Short and sweet?yet still complete?works for all other message media as well.

Resend the Message

Maybe your friend just needs a nudge. Whether she forgot about the message or it never actually went through (sometimes spam filters can be overzealous), if the message is important, go ahead and resend it, saying something like "I wasn't sure if you got this, so I'm following up to see what you thought."

Ask for a Reply

Also, if you want a reply, make sure you explicitly ask for it. "Let me know either way" is the one line you definitely should add in your job interview followup letter and it works for other emails as well. Or you could say "What do you think?" or "Please let me know if you're interested or not." Even better: "I need to buy the tickets by noon tomorrow, so if I don't hear from you before then, I'll assume you're not interested."

Get a Mutual Friend to Intervene

Someone else might be able to get your friend's attention better than you could. Don't be offended?perhaps they're just closer or more regularly in contact. If you have a mutual contact, you could say, hey, I'm having a hard time getting in touch with so-and-so, could you forward my message for me?

(As a final resort, if you're really desperate to get in contact with someone, you could spoof caller ID. As mentioned previously, though, you should only use Caller ID spoofing in an emergency case, because once your friend answers and finds out you are masquerading as someone else, it had better be worth it.) Photo by xrayspx

Don't Assume the Worst

Finally, your friend probably doesn't know she's annoying you, so try to give her the benefit of the doubt and not be too infuriated by this (admittedly annoying) behavior. You could also talk to her about why your messages aren't being returned. Something as simple as "Hey, did you get my last emails/texts/calls? This seems to happen a lot, and I know you're busy, so what's the best way to get in touch with you and when?" could go a long way towards mending the situation.

Love,
Lifehacker

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