Phone Call Faux Pas;  Say that six times after a glass of Pinot and a 12 hour  work day.  Today’s posting will be short and to the point.  No need to beat around the bushes here.  While engaged in an active call, please use the following as your guide.   Avoid or Do Not…

Eat

Chew Gum

Talk to Someone Else

Cough, Sneeze or Blow your Schnoz

Multi-Task*

Make Unnecessary Noises

Hang up in Anger or Frustration

While one could assume that these need no further explanation, I’m going to expound anyway.

Eating while on the phone is rude and crude. Stop it.

Listening to someone chew gum on the other end of the receiver may not bother you but it irks me to death.  It’s similar to listening to one eat.   If you are chewing when you pick up the phone, park your gum outside your mouth.  You can resume action after the call.

Give your caller your undivided attention.  If you are like me, you often bring others into the phone conversation who are physically present.  As long as the person on the other end of the receiver knows this and is OK with it…go nuts.

Please turn your head away if you cough, sneeze or blow your nose.  The visual slide show I get in my head when someone blows their nose on the phone sticks with me for hours afterward.  Yuck.

Multi-tasking .  The asterisk means there is some leeway here.   I believe we women are born multi-taskers.  It is in our genomes.  God made us this way.  I know that I can efficiently make a grocery list, deep condition my hair and watch a romantic comedy on the tube while walking on the treadmill.  I know I could add a phone conversation to the mix easy.  There is something so rewarding about accomplishing more than one task at a time.  I can’t explain it.  It’s a drug and lots of you know what I’m talking about.  So, here’s the rule; as long as the other person feels attended to, not offended,  hurt or slighted,  you just juggle to your heart’s content.

Unnecessary noises are distracting if heard by the party on the other line.  You can figure out if your noise is necessary.  I know there’s a joke in there somewhere.

Never, ever hang up on someone suddenly or in anger.  If you need to end the call, please give respectful warning.  Key word: respectful.

We’ve just begun to scratch the service…more to come!  What irks you?  What phone foibles really get under your skin?

K. Martini