EXECUTIVE COACH AND BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TRAINER CATCHES SEMINAR PARTICIPANT IN THE ACT OF GREAT CELL PHONE ETIQUETTE

Most of us who are trainers/speakers have experienced someone's cell phone going off, usually, right in the middle of one of our most important points. You lose your strain of thought and the participants are distracted while the person fumbles to find her cell phone in her purse.

During a break last week in Chula Vista, I was talking with a participant, Elizabeth. We were deep into a conversation when her phone went off. She had her phone in her pocket, kept eye contact with me and reached into her pocket and open and closed her cell phone so that it would stop ringing. She didn't even look to see if the person was more important than me. I felt honored.

We decided to recreate the scene once the seminar was back in session. Elizabeth stood up to make her point and her cell phone went off -- thanks to help of a colleague. It was a great opportunity to exhibit a way to handle a cell phone during a conversation.

Obviously, an even better approach, put your phone on vibrate. Yet, if you forget, this is a great way to handle the situation.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TIP:

Lately, there has been a great deal of focus on articles explaining "why" men and women are so different in meetings and relationships. Most of them point out that research has been greatly increased on the subject. I would like to suggest that you take the time to read them. My belief is that we can never learn too much about human interaction.