Cell Phone Etiquette

Realizing that this should be self evident, I also realize that it is not to some and I’m guilty of breaking a few rules of common courtesy.

Be aware of your voice level. People tend to talk louder on cell phones. My older son pointed this one out to me. I have a tendency to talk louder if I can’t hear the other person! How much sense does that make to raise the level of your voice when you can’t hear the other person? It doesn’t make your phone reception any better.

Keep private matters private. Certain subjects are completely inappropriate to discuss in public and I’m not just speaking about conversations with friends. Business calls and the conducting thereof should not be a subject that you want the entire world to hear.

Set your phone to silent. I have not turned my phone off in 7 years and I’m not likely to start now but that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be courteous to others by silencing the phone. It is beyond rude to have your cell phone ringing at the movies, the theatre, restaurants, meetings, and etcetera. With the prices of movie tickets, how selfish is it for you to disturb others who are trying to enjoy an evening out? As for meetings, if you’re interviewing how impressive do you think it is to the interviewer to have your cell ring? It’s disruptive and sends a message to the interviewer that you do not respect their time.

Don’t interrupt face-to-face conversations to take a phone call. This is one of the most rude and disrespectful actions that people do. Barring an emergency, the person in front of you deserves your undivided attention. If you must take the call, apologize and keep it brief.

Be careful which cell phone ring you choose. I know about this from personal experience. At one point I had “Welcome to the Jungle,” by Guns-N-Roses as my ring tone. Imagine how well that went over when I was in a meeting negotiating a deal! Err on the side of caution and choose a standard ring tone, save your self-expression for other venues.

Create a professional voicemail message. Understandably, not everyone is comfortable with a voicemail message stating their name and that is acceptable but at minimum, let the caller know what number they’ve reached.

©2010 Cultivating Careers