Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange
Interpersonal Skills Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [phone-usage]

For questions about when and where it is appropriate to use your phone.

Questions about issues regarding phone usage should use this tag. For questions regarding how to handle phone-calls, please use

14 questions
42
votes
10 answers

How can I politely ask someone to get off their phone?

Firstly, I'm not asking someone to not use their phone at all in my presence. But, when I'm with someone and they're sat there scrolling through social media for a prolonged period of time and we've arranged to meet in a social capacity i.e. having…
Bradley Wilson
  • 9,709
  • 10
  • 62
  • 95
24
votes
2 answers

How can I use a cell phone at work for work purposes without appearing to be slacking off?

Where I work, it is frequently mentioned by both co-workers and managers that many people find it rude when staff use cell phones while on duty because it is seen as attending to personal items while on company time. I frequently find myself in…
Robert Columbia
  • 448
  • 4
  • 15
15
votes
3 answers

How to end a work conversation on the phone?

I was recently hired for this awesome job. My boss is in another location in the country which requires me to teleconference with her. Her time zone is a few hours behind mine and since she is so busy in the morning, she tends to call in the…
Recent College Grad
  • 151
  • 3
8
votes
2 answers

How to talk to my parents about their excessive social media usage?

I've recently graduated from university and am now working full time, while living at home until I finish paying off my student loans and can save up to move out. While I'm still living at home, I want to spend as much time as I can with my parents,…
user22798
  • 81
  • 1
7
votes
2 answers

The issue of phones (or how to politely read a text)

I have a flip phone that my parents use to contact me. Since only my parents contact me on it, I generally assume that if my phone dings, it's kinda important that I read it. For example, this past afternoon, my phone dinged in the middle of a…
Auden Young
  • 1,098
  • 8
  • 25
5
votes
2 answers

How to stop my friend's insane phone addiction

So, let's name our main character Josh. Josh is a close friend of mine in highschool, we're both 14. Problem is Josh is very addicted to his phone. At first, Josh would use his phone after class a lot (that makes sense, it's spare time); but then…
Nfagie Yansaneh
  • 614
  • 5
  • 13
4
votes
4 answers

How do I best handle offering my phone upon request without becoming a phone booth

I'm in the community library coding away on some c++11 std::thread work when a library patron enters the quiet area asking to use someone's phone. To his chagrin, he was met with head shakes (no). Those desiring some quiet time with their work…
Mushy
  • 143
  • 3
4
votes
1 answer

Preventing strangers from touching my phone without causing negative response

The typical scenario is as follows. I go into a store and ask a question. During the conversation, I need to show them that they actually do carry an item I'm inquiring about (or maybe that something does contain a substance they thought it didn't…
Konrad Viltersten
  • 223
  • 1
  • 8
3
votes
4 answers

How many time should you try to call someone if the other person is not answering?

Last Monday, I wanted to ask a question to my cousin and decided to phone her. I called her once and she didn't answer so I decided to try a second time right after my first attempt. When she finally answered, she told me that she was in a meeting…
Ael
  • 17,168
  • 12
  • 56
  • 121
3
votes
2 answers

How do I convince my father to use his cell phone?

My (68 y/o) father does not use, upgrade, or keep his cell phone with him at all. His current phone is a very old Iphone, perhaps a ver. 5, and he generally leaves it at home when he goes out to do anything, including work, the gym, or realistically…
FaceInvader
  • 39
  • 1
1
vote
2 answers

Is there a polite way to ask for the person calling to identify themselves first?

I've been getting a lot of spam phone calls. Today I had one from a strange number (started with 1188). When I said hello the person asked to speak to me by name. I confirmed it was me speaking, but the rest of call was so strange I'm concerned it…
potionpot1
  • 133
  • 4
0
votes
2 answers

Ask one of my solicitors to call the other

I am currently getting a divorce. I have two solicitors. One dealing with the family side and one dealing with the business. The one dealing with the business side is doing a lot of it as a friend. She has asked if I could get my family solicitor to…
Karan
  • 9
  • 1
0
votes
2 answers

How can I politely stop my friend from using mobile in class?

Our teacher does not allow us to use mobile phone in class but most of my class mates do including my friend. How can I politely tell her to stop using it in class as she misses out on important lectures and her grades suffer a lot due to it.
Shehnaz Ameer
  • 141
  • 4
-1
votes
1 answer

Question About Texting Cues - Thumb sign and V Sign

I have always been slow to adapt. I have an inbuilt distrust of anything new... Social media has been around awhile now, but I have only dabbled with it on and off. However, now I have a friend who would like to stay in touch through social media…
Tagger
  • 103
  • 2