Answering A Cell Phone In A Public Place

Have you ever been confined to a train carriage and forced to listen to someone on a mobile or cell phone? Has this annoyed you more than amused you? Being forced to overhear someone's conversation is bad enough; but having to listen to an inane conversation is extremely bad mannered and very inconsiderate.

Then if they chose to use foul language it is even worse. Using four letter words may be part of some younger (and not so young) people's everyday communication language but it is not language the majority of people use to communicate.

The majority of people have enough language skills to be able to express themselves adequately using words found in a dictionary. That is, words that are printable and not offensive to anyone hearing them spoken. These words express precise (and sometimes not so precise) meaning to peoples thoughts and emotions.

What to do if you are in a confined space like a train carriage and your phone rings? Answer it quietly, explain that you are unable to take their call right now and that you will call them back as soon as you are able to. Do not, please do not, hold a conversation with them by gossiping about a mutual acquaintance's behaviour at your last social gathering. And if you refuse to be considerate of others around you, then here is a real reason for not gossiping in a public place: You don't know who may be overhearing your conversation and actually knows the person you are talking about.

Think about it for three seconds. When you are in a public area ,you simply don't know who else is around you and may be a neighbour or friend of the person being discussed.

It is probably worse if you take a business call in a public place because you are still being terribly inconsiderate of others around you; and you could well disclose commercial-in-confidence information to someone around you. I am often surprised at how many professional and business people, whom I suspect should be more discreet, discuss their clients business in a public place on a mobile or cell phone.

Have you ever been in a movie and had someone's phone ring at a crucial moment? Worse still, have you ever been subjected to someone actually talking on their phone in a movie? I have, and I couldn't believe the persons inconsideration but after someone stood up to walk out and 'accidentally' tipped the empty popcorn dregs into his lap he then got the message and hung up.

The most polite way to handle and use a mobile or cell phone in a public area is to walk away to a quiet place to take the call. If you are in a restaurant or a meeting, please turn the phone off or at least down to vibrate. That way you will know a call you have been waiting for has come in and you can return the call as soon as it is more convenient to you and especially to everyone else around you.

Mobile or cell phone etiquette is simply a social skill activity that needs to be followed before someone verbally abuses you for lack of consideration or for slander. It doesn't take much effort but makes everyone's life a little more comfortable and enjoyable.

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