Chat Etiquette

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 Online Chat

 Online chat has traditionally been used to make

friends or stay in contact with them, but it quickly
emerged as an effective tool for business
communication
 It enables you to chat with clients, colleagues and
your boss.
 It is fast, cost-effective and best of all, it functions in
real time.A

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 Follow Company Policy

 Many companies completely forbid all forms of IM or chat

at office
In many organizations, the system administrator has instructions to
block the use of IM software (like Yahoo, G-Talk etc). He will do
this by setting company-wide protocols on the firewall or proxy
servers
 Other companies allow their employees to chat with other
internal users (employees)
This is done by hosting their own chat servers on their intranet
 Some companies allow public IM or chat within their
offices and branches
This is done to facilitate company work and should not be misused
for personal chatting A

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 Mailing Lists / Groups / Forums

Your boss could be reading!

Posts are archived

Avoid using company email address

Avoid conversations (one liners)

Do not rush to post A

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 Starting Up

You should establish a dedicated account, distinct from

your personal chat account, for business
This will ensure that you don't have any clients
harassing you at home and it will also prevent any
embarrassing mix-ups at the office.
Whether you are using AOL, G-Talk, Yahoo or MSN,
there is etiquette to be maintained -- especially if you
have an impression to create with your business chat. A

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 Create an identity

Create an identity that is distinct from your personal

chat account
When choosing a nickname or user name, avoid cute
or suggestive ones, such as ”Cool dude 24” or “Ski
bum 99.”
In order to maintain your professional dignity, keep it
business-like and simple.
If your name has already been taken, try adding a
unique number in front of it or behind it
• You can also try adding your department to your name,
as in “Asha_sales” if you work in the sales department A

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 Status

All IM applications allow you to set your status as

”Available” or ”Away” and the like
Some also let you customize messages like ”I am in a
meeting until 2:30 p.m.”
You will upset people if you leave them waiting for a
response when your status is set to ”Available,” but you
are away from your computer
If someone is busy, let them know that they can initiate
chat with you when they're ready and don't continue to
keep asking them if they can chat. Not only is that
annoying, it's also rude. Give people the same courtesy
that you would in any other situation. A

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 Think before you hit enter

Proofread your text before hitting the enter key.

In situations where emotions are running high, one
wrong word can turn a difficult situation into an
explosive one.
You need to check for spelling and tone before you
send a message.
If, at any point in time, you accidentally hit the send
button before proofreading your text, send a message
that highlights, between stars, the correction that you
would like to make.
This extra step in your communication shows that you
care. A

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 Be polite

In the instant messaging world, you won't be judged by the colour

of your skin, eyes, hair, your weight, age or clothing -- not even
your accent
What you will be judged on, however, is the quality of your writing
and the protocols that you adhere to.
Address your communications with such expressions as
“Goodbye,” ”Thanks for your time” and ”Good day.”
Once you have done this, wait to be addressed by the person on
the other end before you terminate the chat session.
It is possible to politely refuse or redirect a customer's
unreasonable demand, empathize with a colleague, apologize to
your boss, and sound polite, professional and courteous with the
right choice or words A

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 Be Polite

Here are some standard chat phrases you can use:

 “I’m sorry, please let me redirect you to my (insert title) who will
be able to help you.”
 “How may I help you today?”
 “Thank you for being so patient.”
 “We value your input.”
 “I'll get right back to you.”
 “I'm glad I could help you.”
 “Would you like me to review anything else with you?”
 “I'll take care of that right away.” A

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 Font, text, colour, and animation

TYPING YOUR MESSAGES IN UPPERCASE is

considered rude -- it gives the impression that you are
shouting or being aggressive
Be careful with your font size -- typically a font size of
10 or 12 is used and expected.
When you choose a font style, stick to something
conservative like Arial or Times New Roman in black
letters. Do not choose something like Monotype Corsiva characters
in hot pink.
It is annoying and distracting to use animation in a
business chat. It does not portray professionalism on
your part or on the part of your organization. A

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 Language and tone

 During a business chat, spelling, grammar and tone matter.

 Ensure that a positive tone prevails. Use first-person and

second-person pronouns to help create a positive tone
 Care must be taken when you structure your sentences as well.
Instead of saying things such as, “If you complete the report,”
restructure it to say, ”When you complete the report.” The former
sounds aggressive and may put someone on the defensive.
 When using chat, don’t forget the basic grammar that you
learned at school. Begin all new sentences with an upper case
letter, capitalize all proper nouns, and do not forget to capitalize
the pronoun ”I” irrespective of where you use it in a sentence.
Beware of spelling errors. A

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 Jargon, slang, abbreviations

When used in live chats and instant messages, this can help
reduce keystrokes, but it may come across as unprofessional to
the person you are communicating with.
Until you get to know a person better or see them using the same
lingo, it is best to steer clear of slang like LOL (Laugh out loud),
BRB (Be right back) or JAM (Just a minute). If the other person
isn't familiar with the lingo, it may confuse them.
You can use abbreviations that are acceptable and
comprehensible by both chat partners, especially when both
parties are in the same organization. These sometimes include
COB (Close of business) or EOD (End of the day). The
appropriateness of their use will vary across different company
cultures, and will also depend upon the recipient.
Above all, sound professional. A

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 Listen and pay attention

Used sparingly and appropriately, words like “OK,” ”alright,” ”sure,”

”definitely,” ”great,” and ”absolutely,” will help show that you are listening.
• You can also use phrases like “I hear you,” ”I'm listening, please go ahead” or
”I understand what you are saying.”
• Stay away from gutturals such as, ”mmhh” and ”ah” to show you are listening --
it looks unprofessional
It helps to be cooperative during a chat.
• For example, if a client asks a difficult question, instead of replying with ”no
clue” or “beats me,” answer with something along the lines of: ”Good question,
Mr. Rao. Hold on for a minute and I'll find out.” The few extra keystrokes may
help you land the deal
Avoid multiple chat sessions, especially while chatting with clients or your
boss.
• You may miss an important point in the other person's messages or lose the
flow of the conversation
• Worse still, you might interpose messages you type A

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 More tips

Don’t Rush it
Give people enough time to respond.
“Machine-gun” messaging is a good way to get people to ignore you in the
future.
Multiple questions sent to a recipient before they have had a chance to
answer can seem more like an interrogation than a conversation
Use Humour with caution
Humour is very culture-specific
There are all sorts of cultural and personal differences among people from
different places, so what may seem funny to you may be considered weak
or even offensive to others.
For example, some people may understand LOL as “Laughing Out Loud”
whereas others might interpret it as “Lots of Love” A

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 Finally …

A business chat can be a great way to build

relationships with colleagues and clients
Getting chat smart is something you should work
toward as quickly as possible before you get left
behind.
Nevertheless, know your client or boss and their
preferences -- if they prefer a phone call, you better
call.
And above all, be extremely careful that you follow the
rules and protocols laid down by your employer as far
as using chat at office is concerned A

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