We are in the age of digital interaction. A time when self-expression is a potpourri of clever hashtags, Tinder one-liners, and quiz results detailing which Game of Thrones character you most resemble, or which decade you should really be living in. What’s your favorite color? Green. How many close friends do you have? 4. I am John Snow living in the 1920’s #SuperDatable.

Technology has become ingrained in our personal lives, and it is here to stay. With the plethora of options available for non-verbal communication, it has become easy to hide behind the safety of non-committal e-mails, text messages, and social media messaging. With the context clues of verbal communication removed, these severely hinder our ability to completely convey our true intent. When texting, you’re constantly forced to analyze whether her “Sounds good to me” was sent with a smile or quickly typed and thrown onto her bed with indifference. There wasn’t even a smiley or yellow-faced Emoji! These nuances are a concern that affects both sides of the conversation. Check out Jess’ article about texting to get the woman’s point of view. Let’s kill this trend, and go back to the old ways.

Let’s just assume that you already accomplished the vital first step of getting a girl’s number. Maybe your hair was perfectly quaffed at the bar last weekend, or maybe the odds were in your favor and your musk fell into the 60% of the time in which it works every time construct. Whatever the situation, go you! Let’s call your new PYT Brittanie (with an -ie).You went on your first date, and you both hit it off..Things are going well for the two of you! Or are they? Since you’re strictly texting, it’s almost impossible to tell whether the ever-frequent “haha” is you killing it or just an awkward text filler. This is what we want to avoid, remember? But how? Here comes the hard part, but it’s also the part that will make you different: Stop texting her all the time and call her instead. Certainly, you shouldn’t call every day, especially when you first start talking to someone new, but an unexpected call every once in a while is a very thoughtful way to keep the vibe alive. It not only makes you stand out, but it also obliterates the confusion of navigating the aether of iMessages. Taking the time to call shows her that you’re willing to put in the effort and gives you a real-time, genuine response to your request to meet at The W rooftop for a second date.

Our generation is generally afraid to talk on the phone. There is no prep time to craft the perfect line, and when you do, it inevitably never goes as planned. Your ironic play-on-words and carefully developed Emoji combos are now reduced to nothing. But guess what? That’s okay! The beauty of talking on the phone from time to time is the fact that you get to know the person on the other side completely unscripted. In other words, you get to know the real them. Conquer your fear of audible communication and actually talk to Brittany. Excuse me, Brittanie. This will show her that you, pardon my French, have balls and big ones at that. If you can overcome your sheepish fear of simply conversing over the phone and talk to her with your mouth instead of the tips of your fingers, she’ll start wondering what else you can conquer …

What do you say? Man up, trust your instincts, and call her. If the conversation crashes and burns or if she doesn’t find it charming, that might just mean she isn’t the right one for you, no matter how good she looks in that sun dress.