Some conversations are too important to text. Call. Your voice carries what your thumbs can’t.

Certain conversations need your voice because they carry more than information. An apology, bad news, a question you are frightened of, something you want somebody to believe: all of those run on tone, hesitation, the pause where you are clearly choosing your words. Typed out, each one arrives flattened, and the other person has to guess at the half you could not send.

Make a short list of what you will not do by message, and keep calling on it. If something has gone three rounds of misreading, stop typing and dial. Four awkward minutes usually beats two days of careful sentences.