The Etiquette Edge, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 18

Using Your Phone Most Productively

Before the Internet, with its stunning power and flexibility, changed the way we work, the telephone was our fastest and most efficient method for overcoming both great distances and busy schedules.

Easy to use, reliable, and relatively inexpensive, it became the most pervasive communication tool in business—both an enabler and an intruder. It changed people’s lives in many ways, not unlike the explosion of all-encompassing broadband and wireless access has today. And even though e-mail has taken its place in many cases, the telephone still frequently is the communication tool of choice. One reason is that the telephone is often a convenient alternative to conversing face-to-face and because it provides ...