PLEASE PRESS MUTE

PHONE SILENCE IS GOLDEN DURING SOCIAL INTERACTIONS.

IT’S AN ABSOLUTE nobrainer that one should keep the smartphone away while interacting with someone, but it’s still a common practice. Somehow, people convince themselves that a glance or two at that allimportant phone screen won’t be noticed. But they are mistaken.

If being liked by others is important, either personally or at work, it would be helpful to put the phone on silent mode before a focussed interaction with someone or a meeting.

Set up your phone so you have easy access to a mute button and avoid being pinged prominently by notifications on everything from Marks & Spencer’s announcement of an end of season sale or your latest phone bill. If there’s someone important you can’t afford to lose touch with even for a few moments, put that person’s number on the priority list, so calls and messages can still cut in. Otherwise, what you’re telling the other person is that you can just about squeeze him or her in between tweets, or while answering emails.

For those who spend a lot of time online, every small interaction on one’s device assumes greater importance than it merits. A Facebook post can wait; you can check how your picture is faring on Instagram later; news alerts can wait, because the impression you are creating on the other person will last forever.