Wireless Etiquette
A little while ago I taught classes to women at the annual You Deserve It event on how to use technology to organize your personal and professional life. The class was really targeted around the benefits of using a Blackberry. I received a number of questions but the one thing that kept coming up over and over was “is there a place where you can read about wireless etiquette?”
There is a whole group of people who are resisting wireless technology because they are really turned off by the behaviors of some of the people around them. Therefore, I present to you five tips that I will help anyone using a wireless phone so that they can be less offensive to the people around them.
- CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!
Use a normal tone of voice when speaking. For some reason people speak louder when they are talking on their wireless phone. It is as though they think they have to compensate for the background noise around them. What happens is everyone around can hear your conversation and frankly it is very annoying. So next time you are in a public voice be conscious of your tone of voice. - “I KISSED A GIRL AND I LIKED IT…”
Turn off your funky ring tone in public. Although “I kissed a girl and I liked it” is your favorite song, it is not everyone’s favorite song. When your phone rings in a restaurant, store or the theater loudly playing your favorite song you are being disruptive to those around you. Couple that with a loud tone of voice and you start to look like the person in the building with the least amount of etiquette. Put your phone in your pocket and put it on vibrate. You won’t miss the call and you will be at least 50% more respectful to those around you when you answer. - YOU ARE NOT AS IMPORTANT AS YOU THINK – AND THAT’S OK
When you are in the middle of something with another person, live in your space, I can assure you the next email on your Blackberry is not life threatening. There is nothing that can damage a relationship more than making someone feel like they are not important when they are interacting with you. Next time you are in a meeting, or out for lunch with a friend try to be aware of how unimportant you make them feel when the biggest concern of the day for you is reading the next email that arrived. I can assure you if it is an emergency someone will call you. - POLITE MODE, PLEASE
Use the off button. If you are attending a meeting at work or you are attending some facilitated training, the most annoying thing you can do to the person presenting is pay more attention to your phone than them. My advice for all people who are presenting is to start the meeting by asking everyone to turn their phones off or to have everyone leave them in a bin at the door and pick them up when they go on break. This is one way to ensure that you have people’s attention and that someone else is not rudely disrupting the entire group. - SAFETY FIRST
Get a blue tooth headset or visor. There is nothing worse that being cut off on the highway because someone was talking on the phone. Talking and texting while driving will soon cause more deaths on our roads than drinking and driving if people do not start changing behaviors. Many provinces and states are banning the use of wireless phones when driving. Do yourself a favor, your family and friends favor – DO NOT TEXT WHILE DRIVING!
Now these are my five rules that can make you a more likable wireless phone user. The only other comment I will add is there are some people in life who just lack judgement. They are the people who are usually always rude, always in your face and just plain offensive to begin with. These rules are not for them. It is too late I am afraid to make them actually care about others. However if you are not part of this small minority, I hope this can help you to be more self aware and a more likable wireless user!
Visit PARLEZ WIRELESS and benefit from our outstanding service and competitive prices.
PARLEZ WIRELESS
4312 Innes Road
Orleans, Ontario K4A 5E6
t. (613) 824-0388
f. (613) 824-2184
