New Rules of Engagement: Cell Phone Etiquette

Technology moves at a lightning pace, faster than our ability to develop rules of engagement. An understanding of cell phone etiquette has been outpaced by thumbs texting across many keyboards. Data from Star Trek the next generation was able to interpret the works of a thousand authors, but could not feel compassion; at least he tried. Let’s all try to understand cell phone etiquette.

Have you ever been walking down the street and someone looks at you and says, "hi", or you think they said something like that, and you realize they have an ear peace and a cell phone hidden somewhere and they are carrying on a conversation with someone else? Boy, that’s embarrassing. Then you try to explain yourself, "Oh I thought you were talking to me. . . "Yeah dude, that was so cool last night. . ." They don’t even hear you. You walk away half humored, partly embarrassed.

Have you ever been in a nice restaurant, candlelight dinner, nice ambiance, and over at the next table, a nice couple is on a date, but one of them (I won’t pick on any one particular gender) is yacking away at the cell phone. When you are on a date, if you pick up the phone, you are telling your date that the person on the end of the line is more important. Turn the phone off, or hit the "decline" button. That sends the message that your date is more important than anyone else.

The loud cell phone conversation- This is usually in a shopping area or a confined crowded space. Everyone is forced to listen to your loud conversation, because we are stuck in a crowded room, or a line somewhere. In days of old, we had these private boxes called phone booths. Go and find a place just slightly removed from everyone else, and keep your voice down a little, so we don’t have to hear what you want for dinner, what’s on sale, how important you are at work, or what you did last night. We’ll call the slightly out of the way place a "phone booth".

Don’t drive while distracted. DWD. I’ve caught myself doing this, phone against the left ear, shifting with the right hand, taking my hand off the steering wheel temporarily, trying to steer with the left knee. Not a good idea. Don’t drive through an intersection with a cell phone locked to your ear. The safe thing to do is pull over and talk. On straight stretches you can sometimes pull into the slow lane, keep it under 65, and carry on a conversation.

Ahhh, ring tones. Snippettes of 1970's classic rock songs are not cool or funny, they are annoying. Rap is worse. Just turn the sound off. If you can’t feel the vibration in your pants, you probably shouldn’t pick up the phone at that moment anyway.

When in a seminar, class, church, or other quiet place, always turn your cell phone to vibrate. Most people forget at one time to turn their phone off or to vibrate. So, always leave it on vibrate. This way you will be more likely to forget to turn the sound on, and won’t have to jump up in the middle of a room full of people disrupting the occasion.

1. Don’t drive while distrated.
2. Find a phone booth.
3. Talk quietly
4. Denying a call says, "I am talking to you, not my phone, and you are more important."
5. Always keep the phone on vibrate. It’s better to forget to turn the sound on, than to have to run out of a quiet room.
6. When on a date, just shut off the phone. It’s more important to show the date how important they are than how important you are.


Thank you for your consideration.