Telepathy player hints

[kahlzun]

Hi all.
I'm currently dming a group for the first time, and following a brief exposure to wild magic, I've given them the power of limited telepathy:
They can send each other tweet-length messages once per minute.
I'm trying to hint to them that they have this ability, but they aren't twigging. I'm looking for advice as to hints I can use, as I don't want to come out and say "you've all got telepathy now"


I tried when one member sees something before the others, that they get a "strange sense of surprise and shock" in the back of their mind.
I've tried separating them, and having obvious emotional cues come through from the others.

Tl;dr : what is a good way to hint a group has gained shared telepathy?

[Zaq]

Once per minute? It's unlikely that they'd guess they have that on their own, since 1/minute is too far apart to do concerted testing of an ability you don't know you have.

Also, is it voluntary or involuntary to send a message like that? Either one has consequences, but if it's voluntary, how would they ever know that they have it? If it's involuntary, how do they prevent sending messages they don't want to send (either personal thoughts, irrelevant thoughts, or whatever)?

I don't think there's an elegant way to surprise the players with this. I think you have to tell them in one way or another that they've got this ability.

[Necroticplague]

You can have a creature they know has a similar ability remark on it. Like a Pseudodragon or Illithid communicating with them telepathetically, and then acting offput when they respond verbally. Let's you be a bit more obvious without outright saying it.

[Lazymancer]

what is a good way to hint a group has gained shared telepathy?
When someone has a discussion away from others, let others hear (in their heads) the words that were said.