every man is a champion in his guarded moments; it is the unguarded hours that kill. Unguarded words, unguarded steps, unguarded emotions, unguarded action, these are recipes for disaster. Emotional intelligence demands unbroken sustenance of self-awareness. Never drop your guard, always realize that fate which seems to stalk every move, unleashes results based on cause and effect of actions. That is why the law of Karma states that action begets reaction. Lois McMaster Bujold sums it up when he warned, that you choose the consequence when you choose the action and advises us to take the action that would deliver desired consequence. No man is born to fail; the creator has embedded in us talents for successful trajectory. It is the deliberate consciousness of the effect of our actions that determines how nature rewards us. You can create desired outcome by a deliberate decision to be aware of the effect of your action on others.
Etiquette highlights how little matters have maximum impact in the results we get in life. It is called social skills, because it deals with how our behaviours affect people around us. When two people come together and their behaviours affect each other, etiquette zeros in on how our behaviour affects the other person, the effect of our action on others regardless of whether we are aware or not. Emotional intelligence demands we maintain the momentum of consciousness. Unfortunately, the intent of any action is considered immaterial as judgment is based on the resultant effect of the action.
The crux of the series on cell phone is to call to mind how we come across to other people while using the mobile phone.
How we come across in the use of the cell phone, which for all intents and purposes is our right, could unconsciously infringe on the peace of others around us.
Whipping out your cell phone to take that important call during a discussion could be interpreted as rude, inconsiderate, uncouth and arrogant, with far reaching consequences depending on the influence of the offended party! Ever wondered why people “eye” you or even hiss in disgust as you unknowingly flaunt your pricey object of social status in the guise of making a call?
Take heed. This New Year, you can set what I call a likeability target by making etiquette your secret weapon.
Social skill is a timeless tool that will assume increasing relevance as long as human beings continue to populate the earth. Purpose to be likeable, make deliberate effort to tone down negative perception, aggregate positives that arm you with a winning tool. A winning personality is a very cheap tool for successful living. Develop a workable success strategy by doing what produces positive outcome. A good starting point is your image in the public space.
Narrowing down to the topic of our discourse, cell phone etiquette in public, do observe these simple manners:
Please keep your voice low while speaking on the cell phone in public. A lot of people have packaged themselves as profitable candidates for kidnap and robbery by sharing their testimonies of God’s goodness via the telephone in the public.
Nobody likes the nuisance who truncates the hope of a peaceful ride by yelling on his mobile, oblivious of the effect on the people around him. Be very brief when your cell phone rings while you are in public transport. Engaging the winds in a supremacy contest by testing the capacity of your lungs while riding on a motorbike is ridiculous. If you cannot ignore the call, you may stop the motorbike to attend to the caller. If you must make or receive calls at the bus stop or train station, do keep your voice low and make the call brief.
While inside the lift, do not engage in long conversation on your cell phone, it is considered rude to regale people with unsolicited personal tales while crammed in a crowded lift. Be aware that people are not interested in your personal affairs; simply inform your caller that you are in a lift and would return the call.
Inside the hospital, please show consideration for the sick, especially while inside the wards or waiting room of the doctor. Except as a matter of necessity, do not interrupt clinical consultation with your doctor by using your cell phone. You demonstrate insensitivity to the plight of other patients waiting to be attended to.
Do keep your phone muted or turned off in the cinemas. Nothing could be more annoying as depriving people of the value of their hard earned resources invested to watch a movie.
You unknowingly disturb other dinners in the restaurant with the loud ringing of your phone. Put your phone on vibration or silent mode.
When entering the library, please turn the ringer off. This ensures there is no beeping of any kind from your gadget. Be considerate for others who have come to a serene location to study unperturbed.
We rob God not only when we fail to honour Him with our substance, we also rob Him of reverence when we disturb the flow in places of worship with the ringing of the cell phone. People deliberately test the limits of mercy through flagrant disregard for the instruction to Turn off mobile phones or silence the ringer. Just how bad can this contravene the commandment that forbids the worship of any object?
It is considered insensitive when you interrupt the sobriety of a funeral with the constant ringing of a cell phone, chatting, texting and discussing while a solemn affair is in progress. Do step aside to a respectful distance to conduct your conversation via mobile phone.
The rule of thumb while going for any meeting is to silence the ringer of your cell phone.