Cell Phone Etiquette
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Screen Your Calls
Limit Cell Phone Use
Take a Break from Texting
Be Aware of Your Behavior
Keep Conversations Private
Choose Ringtones Wisely
Turn it Off
Use Your Manners
Screen Your Calls
• You do not have to answer your phone every time
it rings. You have voice mail. You can return the
call later.
• If you are engaged in a conversation, it is rude to
cut off the person in front of you and answer
your phone.
• If you are driving, it is dangerous to you and
those around you to fiddle with finding your
phone and answering a call. Pull over to a parking
lot or other safe place and return the call.
Limit Cell Phone Use
• Do not talk or text when driving. Even when
you talk using hands-free devices, you cannot
concentrate fully on driving.
• Do not talk in restrooms.
• Do not talk while waiting in a checkout line.
• Stay off the phone when dropping off or
picking up a person, such as your child at
school. Give him or her your full attention and
a proper hello or good-bye.
Take a Break from Texting
• Do not check messages or e-mails when in
business meetings or at dinner with family or
friends. It is rude, and it can wait. Give the
people around you your full attention.
• Do not text in a movie theater or other quiet
places.
• Do not send personal texts at work.
• Do not send bad news in a text message.
Be Aware of Your Behavior
• You do not need to speak loudly into a cell phone.
Use your inside voice.
• If you are in a public place, put some distance
between yourself and those around you for
privacy. Be discreet and keep your call brief.
• Stay alert to your surroundings when talking on
the phone and walking to avoid bumping into
someone, stepping into the path of danger, or
making yourself vulnerable to being mugged or
attacked.
Keep Conversations Private
• People do not want to hear arguments or
intimate details of your life. Keep your voice
down, find a secluded location, and keep your
distance from others when talking.
• Most sensitive conversations can wait until
you are in a private area or until you see the
person face to face.
Choose Ringtones Wisely
• Choose a ringtone that you will recognize
easily.
• Don’t choose a ringtone that would embarrass
you if it rings when you are at work or in other
professional settings.
• Learn to adjust the volume setting for your
ring so that it is appropriate for your location.
Turn it Off
• Turn off your cell phone in movie theaters,
classrooms, hospitals, and in restaurants, and
before entering meetings--especially job
interviews.
• Turn off your phone at funerals, weddings,
libraries, museums, places of worship, and on
airplanes when the flight attendant instructs
you to do so.
Use Your Manners
• If you must make a call or take a call, excuse
yourself. Go outside or find an area where you
can speak in private and keep it short.
• If you are expecting an important call, inform
the people you are with in advance that you
might have to take the call.