Cell Phone Etiquette Tips

A Gentlemen's Guide, Samy Liechti, Blacksocks.com founder

Having to listen to a telephone conversation at close quarters is uncomfortable for all the uninvolved parties – please, don’t be that guy or gal! Here are some basic tips to keep in mind when making and taking calls to ensure you don’t get the people all around you fuming.

• If you’re expecting an important call . . . But you’re in a meeting or some other professional setting, put your phone on vibrate, accept the call, go outside, and keep it short – and make a quick apology when you return.
• Respect cell-free zones. Silence your cell phone at churches, funerals, concerts, movie theatres, exhibitions, seminars, lectures, doctors' waiting rooms, restaurants (cell phone on the table = faux pas). Also, observe all security areas such as airplanes, hospitals, and gas stations.
• Don’t air private information over the phone. These include internal company affairs, your health details, and other information better kept confidential.
• Pick a ring tone that will help people take you seriously. Kevin Lyttle’s “Turn Me On” is not an example of such a ring tone. Choose a tone that won’t embarrass you if your phone starts ringing loudly in a meeting (not that it ever should).
• The only sure-fire way to keep a cell phone conversation private
• Don’t ramble. Save your meandering for when you next take a long walk. Communicate as clearly as you can on the phone, and as quietly as possible. When making a call, it’s common courtesy to ask the recipient whether he or she can speak freely. Don’t launch into a monologue right off the bat.
• Reserve cell phone use for emergencies at social occasions. Otherwise, you’re sending the message “I’m bored!” to your host and fellow guests.
• Should your cell phone ring at an inopportune moment . . . Don’t accept the call right away. Decorum dictates a return call and an apology, at the next available opportunity.

Above all, should you ever be at a loss with regard to cell phone etiquette, simply allow serenity and your common sense to guide you. Additional “A Gentleman’s Guide” tips can be found at Blacksocks.com.

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