Day 32 - Communication Etiquette

Communication has always been an essential part of being human. We 'seem' to better than the rest of the animal life on this planet because of our ability to communicate complex thoughts and things to each other.

But communication also needs to be a two-way thing. I am not going to espouse about communication techniques here but rather what I believe should be the basic etiquette for communication in these times. Today we are all connected to each other through multiple means, other than face-to-face talking, like emails, phone calls, sms and social media.

Unlike earlier times when a delay or lag in replying to a communication was an accepted thing, in today's world we are all connected instantaneously and hence there should be certain rules of replies.

Here are my rules of basic communication etiquette - from a reply side. You may or may not believe in the same things:

1. Always reply to any form of communication from family and friends.
2. Always reply to solicited communication from business associates.
3. If you do not wish to be disturbed at some point of the day on your phone, switch it off.
   
4. If you have a missed call on your phone because you could not pick up the call, call the person back within a reasonable time.
5. If you missed a call because you were talking to someone else and your line was busy, call the person back as basic courtesy.
6. If you get a sms from someone as a conversation piece, reply to the sms in reasonable time. This does not apply to jokes or chain sms.
7. If you commit to a person that you will call them back, do not keep them hanging waiting for your call. Basic etiquette requires that you have to call them back at the time you mentioned or within a reasonable time, as you committed to the same.
   
8. If you get an email directly marked to you that needs your response, reply back within the day. This does not apply to emails which come to you for your information or as a 'cc'.
9. Rule 8 also applies to emails from your friends although this could take slightly lesser priority during business hours.
   
10. Remember communication is a two way street - it works only if you reply and maintain basic courtesy.

It irks me when some of my closest friends - friends that I love immensely - do not seem to follow these basic rules. I try to follow them and abide by them at least 95% of the times and my aim is to ensure that I abide by them 100%.

Do you agree with these rules? And do you abide by them?