Everyone has a "Can you believe it?" cell story. Mary Westheimer, founder of Bookzone, offers the best. At a conference, a panel member was presenting his part of the event. "His cell phone rang and he stopped his presentation and answered his phone!"
Mobile madness is corrupting the most basic of business courtesies. There are some real abuses of cell phone technology being perpetrated all around us, and the time has come to create some social order out of the cell phone chaos. So, lets get serious about mobile manners.
 Don’t subject others to your cell phone talk. When others cannot escape your conversation, such as in a car, in the lift, or at the dinner table, you should spare them. People around you should have the option of not listening. Details about how a business meeting went, or intimate knowledge of what's in your refrigerator at home, are all things we can do without. Maintain a distance of at least 3 meters from the nearest person when talking on a cell phone. No matter how quietly you speak, if standing too close to others they are forced to overhear your personal business.
Tell callers when you're talking on a mobile, so they can anticipate distractions or disconnections. If the connection is bad, tell the caller that you will call back when you find a spot with better coverage. Yelling makes a fragmentary conversation even worse.
Don’t put your phone down on a meeting or restaurant table just in case it rings. This is not the Old West, and you are not a gunslinger sitting down to a game of poker in the saloon. If it rings, you'll hear it just as well if it's in your coat pocket or clipped on your belt.
Don’t sms whilst talking to someone. You ever have someone try to listen to you while text messaging someone else? As they clumsily insert “oh yeahs” and “un huhs” at all the wrong moments.
 Avoid annoying cell phone rings eg La Cucaracha every time your phone rings. Or Britney Spears, or the Baby cry, or any other irritating ring. Is it not enough that phones go off every other second? Now we have to listen to synthesized nonsense?
Turn off your phone at funerals, weddings, bathroom, and anywhere it would be unacceptable to bring a screaming child. If you would be embarrassed to have a crying baby in a situation, then silence your phone. And don't have any emotional conversations in public — ever.
Have a voice mail message – ensure it is short and professional. It should not be more than 15 seconds. Provide an informative voice mail message if you are unavailable for a long period. At all costs avoid heavy breathing or funny voicemail messages eg “You know what to do.”
Don’t dial and drive. This madness has to stop. There are enough people in the world who have problems mastering vehicles and phones individually. Put them together and we have a serious health hazard on our hands.
Don’t leave a lengthy voicemail message. If you reach a voicemail, speak slowly, clearly, say your name and phone number at the beginning of your message and at the end of your message, briefly state the purpose of your call.
Don’t text small talk. We have become so lazy that we’re asking people to sum up their days with a text. “How r u?” “What’s up?” “What’s new?” These arbitrary questions are annoying, impersonal and pointless.
Love the One You're With. It's rude to take a cell phone call during a social or business conversation. Let the call go to voice mail and return it later. This also applies to when a waiter is taking your order or when you're at the front of the checkout queue at Woolies.
Don’t speak louder on your cell phone than you would on any other phone. If your signal cuts out, speaking louder won't help, unless the person is actually within earshot.
Do these seem like common sense to you? Maybe so, but how many are you or your colleagues breaking every day?
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See me on TV this Thursday 28 August (12 – 1 pm) on LunchBox - a new daily talk show on SABC 3.
I will be talking on making a “Memorable First impression”. The show’s theme is upbeat, informative and entertaining. Topics fall into the categories lifestyle, wealth, wellness and knowledge.
These workshops are a DESTINY first, promising an informative, interactive and fun day filled with the right information to help kick-start your career! So join us at the third workshop in the series, which takes place in Cape Town this month. 
Khanyi Dhlomo founding editor of DESTINY, will present strategic career advice for women entrepreneurs.
From time to time, we need to be reminded about the everyday forgotten "rules" of office behavior. Sometimes we get so comfortable in our jobs and with our co–workers that we overlook common courtesy.