The Talking Stage
Listen and Learn. The point of the talking stage is to get to know the other person. Listen to everything the other person says. Its important to learn what the other person is like before jumping into a serious relationship. Don't just be the talker, be the listener. If you talk the entire time, you won't learn much about the other person. While texting, read the entire message to learn about the other person, rather than just skimming it in order to reply.
Talk About Random Shit. The best way to get to know a person is to talk about the random things. Don't talk about ewwy gooy feelings all the time, talk about stuff. If all you ever talk about it how you feel, you won't get to know the person and what they like. You will base your relationship solely on the feelings they feel rather than the person they are. A guy I dated, named Parker, we had a game we would play. While texting, one of us would say "let's play question game" and that meant we could ask any question and the other person had to answer. After the person answered, they would get to ask a question. It made it so that we could talk about anything and it gave us a chance to learn more about each other by asking the questions that we were wondering. It took away a wall between us and opened it up for us to be truthful to each other. We didn't miss use the "question game" by asking "why do you like me" or ewwy gooy feeling questions. The questions had to be about random things that would help us learn new things about each other. It made it easier to keep small talk going and it helped us get to know each other in a different way. If you hang out in group hangs, then that makes sure no ewwy gooy feeling stuff is discussed and keeps you talking about simple yet random topics with other people.
Make Sure He Understands Your Intentions. Sometimes, in the "Talking Stage" signals can be miss interpreted. If during the "Talking Stage" all you guys talk about is feelings and about how much you "care" then he could take that as a flirtationship. Don't know what a flirtationship is? Its when two people are only together to have someone to flirt with and compliment each other. In a flirtationship, the people truly don't know the other, they just know how to complement them. If you want a relationship, it takes so much more than telling someone how "beautiful they are" and how "you can't stop thinking about them." A relationship is about being there for someone even if they are upset or mad, it is about knowing what a person is thinking and what makes them who they are. When you only talk about feelings with a guy, he will think that you don't want to get to know him as a person but just as a person to flirt with. So here the tip: Make sure it's clear to a guy you want a relationship by getting to know him, rather than just a flirtationship with only flirting.
The "Talking Stage" is one of the most important stages in building a relationship. You have to get to know the other person before having a serious and meaningful relationship. So don't skip this stage of else, you might enter a relationship without knowing the person truly. In summary: Just talk about random shit and make sure to listen to what the other person has to say.
-Xoxo Piper