Capitalizing On Courtesy
Tweaking Your CellPhone Etiquette
excerpted from Penelope Patsuris, FORBES
NEW YORK - The fact that July was National Cellphone Courtesy Month was lost on most people.
Penelope reports ... "The results of Sprint's ... recent Wireless Etiquette Survey made that clear: Seventy-seven percent of those polled said they've overheard a cell phone conversation while in a public restroom. Over half say they are made to feel 'unimportant' when someone they're talking to answers a cell phone.
"But that's what keeps corporate etiquette consultants like Anne Marie Sabath, founder of Cincinnati-based At Ease, in business. As technology proliferates in the office, so too do the courtesy conundrums facing executives everywhere.... she says companies ask her more and more to address the misuse of the handhelds and laptops that are supposed to improve employee productivity....
"Hilka Klinkenberg, who is the president of Etiquette International, based in New York, agrees that when executives use technology in a courteous fashion it's not just a matter of minding their P's and Q's. 'It shouldn't be in the name of manners,' she says. 'It should be done in the name of relationships. Manners make relationships go smoothly. It's all about interacting with co-workers, clients and managers so that they feel valued.'
Klinkenberg notes that while people are extremely aware of others' poor behavior--whether it's text messaging in the middle of a meeting or screaming into a cell phone--they often don't see themselves as offenders. ...
Klinkenberg, who charges $7,500 for a one-day corporate workshop or $250 an hour for one-on-one coaching, says that a little forethought can go a long way in managing business etiquette issues.... Sabath advises clients not to respond to any message, whether it's via telephone, e-mail or IM, until they can give 100% of their attention to it. One of her pet peeves is when people answer a cell phone when they're heading into a meeting or onto a plane. 'They answer and they're very abrupt with the caller,' she says. 'So why not just let it go to voice mail?'
"Other common executive-etiquette transgressions include people who answer their phones or BlackBerries in the middle of meetings, and text messages and e-mails without proper grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Klinkenberg suggests that executives who make calls on city streets or in train stations think about the person on the other end of the line first. 'If it's not an urgent call, why subject them to sirens and other noisy distractions?'"
Nancy's comment: I've been particularly offended with people using their cells in public restrooms. But it doesn't bother me if grammar and punctuation aren't perfect ... that's what the internet used to be all about. What about you, dear reader? What do you think?
This article is from Forbes online.
3 Comments:
I guess I'm lucky enough not to have heard anyone answer a cell phone in a restroom! How odd. As for spelling/punctuation - it depends on the situation. I can see where executive level business communication should be of the highest caliber.
I think that the carelessness of grammar and spelling on the internet is deplorable. It shows a lack of respect for the intended reader. I have a friend who used to send me emails in all capitals, it drove me crazy. I read emails from people that have so many spelling errors and grammatical errors that it makes me question their basic competence. While the ease of communication on the internet is wonderful, the tools of a spell and grammar checker are available to almost everyone and are so easy to use, that not to use them seems to display a lack of caring by the sender, as if the recpient is hardly worth the time. If one had to use a dictionary and physically change every word by deleting and retyping, then I would understand how this could inhibit spontaneous communcation, but with the exception of comment boxes like these, most emails are a cinch to correct.
I experienced my ex-colleagues using a cell phone in a restroom quite often. So busy and flexible, they were able to talk even "during the process", amazing.
I´m probably one of the last persons on this planet who doesn´t own a cell phone and I don´t miss it at all. Sorry for possible grammatical errors :).
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