With the explosion of cell phones and handheld devices, people have become immune to the sounds and attitudes that accompany the use of these items—the beeps, rings, dings and even the horrible sounding songs that you really can't believe someone actually chose as their ringer. These devices don't come with an etiquette manual, but they should. Let's take a short quiz to see if you have any electronic etiquette.

1. You are the featured speaker at the ABI Annual Spring Conference and are in the middle of your fascinating presentation of "Sovereign Immunity in Bankruptcy" when your cell phone rings. Do you:

(a) take the call
(b) apologize to the audience and take the call
(c) allow the cell phone to ring and let the call go to your voice mail, or
(d) apologize to the audience and immediately turn off the phone?

2. You are in the middle of a meeting with the senior partner of your firm and its newest client discussing his prospective chapter 11 filing. Your Blackberry is on the conference table and is beeping. Do you:

(a) pick up the device, read your e-mail and respond to the e-mail
(b) pick up the device, read your e-mail but wait until the meeting is over to respond
(c) apologize to those in the meeting, pick up the device, read your e-mail but wait to respond, or
(d) apologize to those in the meeting and turn off the device?

3. You are anxiously awaiting the news as to whether you have been chosen as creditors' committee counsel in the newest Fortune 500 company bankruptcy proceeding. You receive an e-mail at your business e-mail address from a friend who indicates "you will get your fondest wish if you forward this e-mail to 10 friends in the next 24 hours." Do you:

(a) increase your luck (and your chances of getting the case) by forwarding the e-mail to the entire firm
(b) only forward the e-mail to the lawyers in the bankruptcy department at your firm
(c) forward the e-mail to 10 people from your personal contacts, or
(d) immediately delete the e-mail from your computer and send your friend a note informing them of your personal e-mail address and asking them to please not send those types of e-mail to you at the office?

Of course, all of the correct answers to this quiz were D. In fact, the correct answers to questions 1 and 2 weren't even a choice—the devices should have been turned off or in silent mode during those events.

Cellular Phones

Joanna L. Krotz, columnist for Microsoft bCentral, Microsoft's small-business web site, created a "10-Point Plan" for the new dos and don'ts of cell phone use.

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[R]emember that every beep isn't an emergency.

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Don'ts

1. Never take a personal mobile call during a business meeting. This includes interviews and meetings with co-workers or subordinates.
2. Maintain at least a 10-foot zone from anyone while talking.
3. Never talk in elevators, libraries, museums, restaurants, theaters, dentist or doctor waiting rooms, places of worship, auditoriums or other enclosed public spaces, such as hospital emergency rooms or buses. And don't have any emotional conversations in public—ever.
4. Don't use loud and annoying ring tones that destroy concentration and eardrums. Grow up!
5. Never "multi-task" by making calls while shopping, banking, waiting in line or conducting other personal business.

Dos

1. Keep all cellular calls brief and to the point.
2. Use an earpiece in high-traffic or noisy locations. That lets you hear the amplification—how loud you sound at the other end—so you can modulate your voice.
3. Tell callers when you're on a cell phone and where you are—so they can anticipate distractions or disconnections.
4. Demand "quiet zones" and "phone-free areas" at work and in public venues, like the quiet cars on the Metroliner.
5. Inform everyone on your stored-number list that you've just adopted the new rules for mobile manners. Ask them to do likewise. Please.

This portion of the article was reprinted with the permission of Microsoft bcentral.com. The full text of the article can be found at http://www.bcentral.com/articles/krotz/165.asp.

Personal Data Assistants

Jean Robertson, a shareholder with the firm of McDonald Hopkins Co. LPA in Cleveland, says "put that Blackberry down." Ms. Robertson, although admittedly guilty of poor Blackberry behavior from time to time, believes that "it is presumptuous of us to think that we are all so important that we can't show our colleagues and clients the respect that they deserve. When I'm talking to my children, I ask them to look at me. I expect the same attention and respect from my peers."

Let's just start using common sense when dealing with hand-held gadgets. As a general rule, if you are in a private situation such as waiting at the airport, in your office or on the subway, feel free to use your handheld. In any public situations, you have to evaluate where and when it is appropriate. Weddings, funerals and the theater are definitely a no-no. Business meetings should also be off-limits, but there can be exceptions. If you are waiting for something important, apologize at the beginning of the meeting and explain your situation. If that important message does materialize during the meeting, ask for a short break and deal with your message. Don't respond to the message while the meeting continues: It is clear to everyone in the room that you aren't paying attention, and you could possibly miss something important.

E-mail

With hundreds of millions of people using the Internet and e-mail daily, most messages never attract much attention. It is the ones that are offensive, whether through content or lack of content, that most people notice. I once had a colleague that was so proud of her speedy typing ability that she never took the time to read what she was sending—she was just pleased that she had responded so quickly. We used to look forward to being copied on her e-mails, especially to the higher-ups at our company, just to get a good laugh at the errors throughout the message.

An article in PCWorld.com, "Test Your E-mail Etiquette," describes the 10 worst e-mail etiquette infractions:

1. Sending Offensive Content. You might think a photo of Janet Reno's head above a naked model's torso is funny, but be careful whom you share it with. Some friends may take offense, and e-mailing it to coworkers can get you reprimanded—or even fired.
2. Using E-mail for Sensitive Messages. E-mail messages can be misconstrued. You may have meant one thing, but inadvertently implied the opposite.
3. Flaming. Think before you click "send"—don't ever send a message you typed while angry.
4. Spamming and Chain E-mail. Never send spam unless you have asked the recipients for their permission.
5. Getting Too Attached to Attachments. Attachments can quickly spread trouble—like a virus.
6. Not Bothering to Check Your Spelling and Grammar. Always proofread your messages before sending; many people are insulted when they receive a message containing poor spelling and grammar. It certainly doesn't reflect well on the writer.
7. Taking Too Long to Respond: Always respond to e-mail (excluding spam) within one business day—it is disrespectful not to reply quickly.
8. Copying Everyone on the Planet: Business e-mails should be copied only to those concerned with the matter at hand.
9. Rambling on. Get right to the point and stay there.
10. Making Assumptions about Formatting. Unless you know otherwise, assume the recipient's e-mail program can handle only basic text. Too often, special characters, fonts and formatting come across as indecipherable gobbledy-gook if your correspondent's system doesn't support them.

Text from this article was used with the permission of PCWorld.com. The full text of the article was posted on Sept. 28, 2000, and can be found at http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,18579,00.asp.

Conclusion

The best advice for the use of any electronic device is to use your head. Review any of your e-mails prior to hitting "send" and please use the spelling and grammar tools that come with any e-mail program. Turn your cell phones and PDAs either off or in silent ringing mode when in public situations, and leave the room if you have to use it. Most of all, remember that every beep isn't an emergency.