I was wandering down the aisle at the grocery store the other evening and I came upon someone having an intense business conversation on her cell phone. She was discussing all sorts of particulars—including names, financial amounts, and other details. I realized that while cell phones are handy and have changed the way we work—we still should be cautious of what we talk about and where…
Maybe you think that no one will know what you are talking about and to whom, or maybe a person gets so caught up in the conversation or the “deal” going down that it doesn’t even dawn on him or her that it might be inappropriate or that you might be letting secrets slip. Regardless, it seems pretty unprofessional to me to be name-dropping and talking about customer or client details, financial amounts, giving out addresses and phone numbers, etc. all in public. Cell phone calls are not private, after all, when you are walking down the aisle at the grocery store, sitting in a restaurant or coffee shop, or standing in the all at your child’s school. What sort of information might you be spreading and sharing when you are working on the run with your cell phone to your ear?
I am not anti-cell phone and I DO think that portability can be a great bonus of the home business, but I do think that we need to be careful and diligent about protecting our professionalism and the private information of both ourselves and our customers. Cell phones have become so easy and prevalent that we just take them everywhere and have all sorts of conversations without thinking about who might listen in. It can take some focus and practice when you’ve gotten used to just talking about whatever to whomever and wherever!
Also: How Much Personal Information Should You Put on Your Web Site?
Your Contact Information Should be on Everything