Texting for Business Professionals -- Acceptable or Not?
Texting in today's business world is mostly frowned upon and often perceived as unprofessional. However, with there being exceptions to every rule imaginable, here are a few texting guidelines for you to adhere. A key to
1. Abbreviations
Texting is meant to be a quick form of
communication. It's common to use abbreviations and shortcuts, but there is such a thing as an inappropriate abbreviation. Using
shortcuts has become more common in the business world, but make sure it’s
appropriate to be that informal. Ultimately, the safest route is to
type out the entire word or phrase.
2. Tone
When you're writing short and fast, you're not
thinking about your tone and your text may sound harsher than you
intend, Try to write in complete sentences to prevent sounding abrupt,
and always read your message out loud to make sure it doesn't sound inappropriate.
3. Never Text Bad News
Don’t give negative feedback or quit
your job in a text, In both cases, speak to the person
concerned. Even if you are leaving a company, you don’t want to burn
your bridges — you may need a reference in the future
4. Meetings & Changes
If you're going to change a meeting time or
venue at the last minute, give the person a call out of respect.
5. Use Voice to Text Carefully
Smartphones allow you to speak your
message, which the phone then converts to text, but a lot can be
lost in the translation. Make sure that what you said is what is showing as
text, before you hit the send button. You have no idea what additional noises the phone may pick up and translate into your text making it incorrect or even inappropriate.
Karen A. Thomas
Certified Etiquette & Civility Trainer
www.ctetiquette.com
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Good advice, Karen.
ReplyDeleteThank you Karen! I've had occasion to experience at least one of this list as an accidental message and caught some too, in both my personal and professional lives.
ReplyDelete