Phone Call Etiquette

Most people who know me well know that I hate cell phones. Particularly, I hate cell phones when they cause people to become put on the back-burner.


Example 1:  You're talking to someone (be it a friend or stranger) and engaged in a conversation. That person's phone dings to alert them of a text message. He/she continues to talk to you, but he/she gets out the phone, reads the text, and decides whether or not to reply during the conversation! I understand that sometimes we are waiting for information to come in from a text. In that situation, please tell your conversational partner up-front that you are expecting a reply text that you'll have to check on if it comes.

 Example 2: You're on Skype talking to friends or family. You've made a date to speak with them and are having a lovely time. However, their house phone rings during the call. Or, their cell phone rings during that call. They ask you to wait so they can answer the phone. It's just down-right-rude, unless they are waiting for an important call back from someone. Again, announce at the beginning of Skype that your phone may ring due to work, or kids, or some other reasonable important reason. Otherwise, stay focused on the person you're Skyping with. 

Example 3: You're talking with a person on the phone, on Skype, or in-person when the other person's phone rings. Your conversation partner actually asks you to hold-on while they answer the phone to ask the caller if he/she can wait for a call-back. What. The. Heck! Two people have now been told to wait. Why??! There's voicemail! Let the caller go to voicemail so that no one feels like they are second fiddle!!!! It's better for everyone.

In all of these examples, there's room for emergencies, but generally speaking, life isn't full of emergencies. We have conjured up this notion that at any turn we could have a life-altering emergency, but usually, it's not happening. So this leads me to two ideas:
1. Stop worrying about possible life-altering emergencies.
2. Start focusing on the people you're with instead of on the people who might be calling/texting. Both parties will feel more loved and valued which will make you feel better, too.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Phone call etiquette is not only represents you, but also represent your business while you are talking with a customer. These are two different thing to talk with a friend and talk with a customer and we should be very careful while talking on the phone. Placed on hold is really very irritating so, avoid it and do not place a person on hold more than one minute, come back and say thanks for the patience and yes always speak with smile as a person can feel your smile on phone. Learn more about telephone etiquette here:http://www.m2onhold.com.au/news.php#07