Cell Phone Etiquette
The person standing face to face with you has top priority. It’s rude to leave the person you are with feeling less important than the caller.
Keep your private matters private. No one wants to hear the most intimate aspects of your life.
Speak softly. Nothing is more annoying than a listening to someone’s loud, brash, conversation.
Respect the personal space of others. Try to keep a good 10ft distance between you and others. Don’t keep people trapped in your space such as on an elevator, or bank line.
Tell callers you are on your cell phone. This way they’ll know to expect interruptions and disconnections.
Know when to turn your phone completely off. Worship Service, weddings, funerals, the waiting room of the doctor’s office, movies, and enclosed public places are off limits.
Be wary of novelty ring tones, and use the vibrate function often. Not everyone wants to hear some pop star’s latest hit while you search for your phone.
Use ear pieces only while driving and keep calls to a minimum. Nothing’s more confusing than a person walking towards you, ranting out loud, with their ear piece in, and you think their ranting to you or just plain crazy. For your safety, if you must use your phone for an extended time while driving, pull over.
Use your phone’s features, such as Voicemail, Caller Id, and Text messaging. This way you’ll never miss an important message, you’ll know exactly who’s calling, and you can send a brief message without interrupting the party you are with.
Inform callers that you’ve just adopted new rules for cell phone manners and ask them to do the same. Spreading the rules will help our society develop better cell phone manners.