As I leave for my out-of-town retreat tomorrow, I tell people to call my cell phone if any emergencies or questions arise while I’m gone. However, I also tell them that I may not necessarily answer the phone right away and that they should leave a message or text-message me for a quicker response. As a consultant, there is always pressure on me to answer my phone immediately no matter what I’m doing. However, tomorrow I will be meeting dozens of new faces and participating in conversations as I network my way to a better year-end review. During these conversations, I find it rude to excuse myself from their presence just to answer my phone. It’s as though something more important has come up even though I don’t know what it is yet.

Anyways, I found a quick lesson on How to Practice Cellular Phone Etiquette over at eHow for anyone interested. It doesn’t offer enough tips but it does let everyone rant a bit about how us consultants treat people.