CELL PHONE ETTIQUETTES
Would you have imagined using Mobile phones say 15 years back? That too with a Camera???
Yes, the Mobile phone technology is moving with leaps & bounds!!
Yes, now you are getting faxes on your mobiles!!!
TM of the day, fellow Toastmasters and respected Guests, a very good evening to all of you!
The question is do we have manners in using our mobiles?
Cell phones: For many is an indispensable communications tool. For others, it is just another way to show off. I'm sure that many of you have experienced the pleasure of using a cell phone. Perhaps some of you are guilty of showing off the new ring tone or the new camera or the new MP3 player???
You are in a very serious meeting & somebody’s mobile starts ringing! Is it not a courtesy & good manner to have switched off or put on silent mode???
Fortunately in the Toastmasters we have the cell phone etiquette to be on silent mode or to be switched off!
I can never forget the scene at the funeral prayer when the Imam was giving a sermon and his mobile started ringing, that too with a nice melody from a film!!!
It's really bad manners, risky & dangerous using your cell phone when driving! When I got my cell phone, I got not just one, but two full-color brochures about why you should not use your cell phone while driving. People still do it. You see some people on the road with their cell phone in one hand and popcorn in the other. How are they steering the car!?
Years ago in pre-telephone days, we were using "How are you!" as a greeting. When the telephone came along, we learned to say "Hello" when answering the phone, whereupon both parties would ask "How are you?" after “Hello”.
Now the mobile phone has changed all that "How are you?" has been replaced by “Where are you?"
Sometimes the caller is a suspicious spouse and after the standard "Where are you?" the next question is "Why had you switched off your phone when I called you 30 minutes ago?" Then the answer came: "It was on the charger... I switched it off so it could recharge quickly." Additional cross-examination like "But your charger is at home!" This is also not very helpful because the prompt answer is, "I borrowed a colleague's."
Bosses never get the right answer of “Where are you” on cell phone from their juniors, invariably the answer is, “I am stuck in traffic”.
Last year on a Saturday I was watching a Cricket Match in the ICC hall. A person next to me had a call from his boss. “Yes Sir, I am on my way to Ras Laffan. Yeah Yeah..… I will talk with Mr.Abdulla about it. Ok Sir… I will be back after 4 and I will give you the report.… No problem sir… duty is the priority… ok sir bye.” And then he hangs his phone. At the same time I saw one another person sitting in the front seat also pressing the red button of his cell phone.
One more general habit people have when they receive any call on their cell phone they start walking very fast. Some people keep on walking while talking on cell phone in a particular area as they are giving their 5th project of Toastmaster which has its objectives as “Body Language”. One of my friends and I were gallivanting on the Cornish. Suddenly his cell phone started ringing. To my surprise he took 10-15 longer steps, pressed the answer button and after that he started walking very fast! I was running behind him. Thank god it was only a 2 minutes talk.
During my last vacation in India I being an IT professional had a call from a Trustee of a high school who planned to purchase 25 PCs for their school. He wanted me to decide which and from whom the PCs should be purchased. Since I already had some commitments, I promised him to come after a week. When I finally went into his office, he had his cell phone on the desk in front of him, right directly in the line of sight between him and me. He said to me, “Ashfaque, I want to express to you how Important it is to decide which PCs and from which supplier it should be purchased.”
At this point, his cell phone rang. When people interrupt a meeting to take a cell-phone call, they always say the same thing: “Excuse me, but I must take this.” He went on, “Hello? ... That’s okay. You are not interrupting me…. I am in meeting, but it’s not anything important.” Now it turned out, making a comparative statement to buy the PCs was not that important for him.
So, if you are a cell-phone user, please practice courtesy when using your cell phone. Don’t use your cell phone while driving. Don’t use your cell phone to show everyone you have a cell phone. And one other thing….. Oh, my cell phone is ringing. Excuse me, but I must take this….
Over to the Toastmaster of the Day.
