Millions of Canadians use their cellphones to make phone calls or text messages, but many probably don’t know the proper etiquette that should be involved when doing this.
Local media personality Tony Deys says there are a number of steps a person can do to be more respectful – and professional – when using these devices.
Phone messages and voice mail messages can be perceived as visual representation of you, so try to sound as professional as possible. Many people can get the wrong perception of you from a bad message.
“It’s amazing how many people can get an impression out of a 20-second message,” says Deys.
To avoid this situation Deys has suggested some helpful hints that you should use when creating or leaving a phone message.
1. Think about what you’re going to say before you leave the message.
2. Be concise with what you say (only the amount of information).
3. Say your phone number twice and say it.
4. Make sure you pronounce names and words clearly to avoid confusion.
5. Leave the day and time of when you called. This way you can allow the recipient the chance to digest the phone message, by doing this you allow the other person a timeframe to when they need to respond to the call.
One thing Deys thinks people should try to avoid is to not wait until the end of a message to leave your phone number. Especially if it’s a long message and the person who left it didn’t say their number clearly. Because now you must re-listen to the message again just to find out the number of the person who made the call.
When you encounter pre-recorded messages, Deys suggests maintaining professionalism and repeating the message back in a similar fashion to how you received it and wish them a good day.
During a day, one may encounter many situations in which they may need to decide to leave or shut off their phone, for instance when you enter a meeting or go golfing with your friends.
“If your wife is having a baby and your on stand bye, then have your phone on. . . but anything short of an emergency that you know is probably going to maybe happen in the next hour or two its probably best to turn your cell phone off, or put in on vibrate,” says Deys.
However, Deys feels that putting your phone on vibrate doesn’t always work, because a lot of vibrating phones still make noise. Something you should consider when you enter public settings. Because there is nothing worse in Deys’ mind then a distraction happening during a meeting or a class lesson.
“I find it takes everybody’s attention away from what is that we were talking about in the meeting or in class,” he says. “There’s nothing more embarrassing then having your cell phone go off with some dorky tune that you downloaded blaring through the class and it’s in the bottom of the purse or a pocket you can get too.”
Another bad habit Deys feels you should try to avoid involves talking on your cellphone while standing in a long line-up. Even in these situations you should still be respectful of individuals space because you usually tend to talk on your phone a little louder than normally. Move away a distance far enough to where you can talk on the phone in a private manner. So the person standing next to you doesn’t feel like they just had someone put a megaphone to their ear as you talk.
Text messaging tips
Text message should be written no different than e-mail messages. When leaving these types of messages Deys feels you should be as professional as you can, so avoid using short versions of words, jargon or slang. “If you want to look professional, then don’t use lol, or bff,” says Deys.
Avoid texting when engaged in a conversation, as you should respect the time of the other person you are talking to during this time.
“Nothing is more annoying than having someone text and not here what you say when you are trying to have a conversation with someone,” says Deys.
These types of gestures truly show a lack of respect to the other person, as you should always try to apply some common courtesy and etiquette within the phone calls and messages you make.