What would we do without our cell phones? Wow, there's a scary question. It's hard to imagine a world without them. But Cell Phones, connected as they may keep us, seem to have an amazing power to disturb and trump face to face interaction. For example, why is it that during a meal or a meeting, people insist on taking every call? Even worse, just let the phone ring? They forget all about the person across the table as if they were invisible!
This violates the golden rule of interpersonal communication, which is to make the other person feel like the most important person in the world.
The following is a list of Cell Phone do's and don'ts that will help you avoid embarrassing yourself while still honoring the person across the table. (This information is NOT found in the 147 page Sprint PCS handbook.) Whether you're at lunch or in a one-on-one meeting, use these etiquette tips to combat even the most enticing barriers that stand in your way of being an effective communicator.
DO?Be Subtle Yet Accessible
The three possible locations to keep your phone are: bag, belt or pocket. Many people chose to keep Cell Phones in their bags because of pocket-less wardrobes. If this is the case for you, be sure to choose a vibrating or single beep ring that is audible, yet minimal so it doesn't ring seven times while you search through your bag.
Pockets and belt clips are the most efficient places to keep your phone because you are able to answer the ringer right away. Also you can silence the ringer right away. Remember, the last thing your friend or colleague wants to hear during the meeting is an annoying MIDI version of Beethoven's 9th piercing his ears.
DO NOT?Lay Your Phone on the Table
The moment you sit down to lunch with someone, what's the first thing you do? Check out the menu? Take a sip of water? Unfold your napkin? If you're like me, you succumb to the power of the almighty carbohydrate and go to town on the rolls.
But imagine this: you sit down to eat only to watch the person across the table reach into her pocket, grab her Cell Phone, and smack it right down next to the salt shaker. Ouch.
Does that mean she has an emergency call coming in? Probably not. It sounds more like, as Jerry Seinfeld says, "I have 62 other people on speed dial that I could call if I wanted to; so you better be interesting." That is not the way to make someone feel important.
DO?Take Emergencies
If you know ahead of time that an incoming call is a Business or personal emergency, answer it. This is what cell phones are for. But other than an emergency message or a call that directly affects all people the conversation at hand, there's nobody calling you that can't wait an hour for you to call him back. In the history of Cell Phones, nobody has ever said, "You were in a meeting?! And THEN you called me back?! How rude!"
DO NOT?Wear Phone Accessories During the Meeting
If you sit through an entire meeting wearing an earpiece, headset or any other hands-free-time-saving-quick-answer-annoying-accessory, you should be ashamed of yourself. That's like taking your spouse to a singles bar!
Nonverbal communication speaks before you do. It accounts for 93% of your communication. So, along with eye contact, smiling and open body language - involvement shields like Cell Phone headsets can nonverbally send the wrong message, for example: "Please anticipate our meeting being interrupted by somebody more important than you."
DO NOT?Let Your Phone Ring Twelve Times
Especially if your cell phone ring is audible from Jupiter, always silence the ringer after three beeps - or in some cases, symphonies. Odds are you're annoying the heck out of someone else in the room, namely, the person sitting two feet across the table. Most cell phones have buttons on the outside that double as ring silencers. Use 'em. Consult your manual and learn how to quickly silence your phone while it's still in your pocket. If you happen to sport the Clint Eastwood Quick Draw
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