No Solo Hello, Please!
Back it up with your ask.
Welcome!
Hi this is John with this week’s Developing Skills - Skills for Developers looking to develop their careers. **
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Tip of The Week: Don’t Send Hello Out On It’s Own
When we call someone on the phone or meet them in person, saying hello is great. It’s polite and friendly.
When we are reaching out to people asynchronously on the Internet or with whatever chat software our company uses it’s much less useful. You end up with discussions like this:
09:43 Them: Hello
09:51 Me: Hi
10:11 Them: Hi
10:15 Me: Hi how can I help?
11:01 Them: Hi you free?
Which is not effective and has led to us both having multiple context switches and waits to see if the other person responds. If they’d not sent out Hello on it’s own, it could have been just as polite and much more effective. Imagine this:
09:43 Them: Hello, I could really use your help with X can we jump on a quick call? I’m free until 10:15?
09:51 I call them.
So please, don’t stop saying Hello, Hi or whatever your equivalent is, but do stop sending it out alone. Follow it immediately with your request.
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I typically spend a few minutes crafting my initial message to ensure it's clear and prompts a straightforward response, like "Yes, I can help," "No, but I know someone who can," or "I'm not sure what you're asking for." During the COVID-19 pandemic, the frequency of these types of exchanges increased, and I found messages lacking clear intent—just a "hello," for instance—particularly stressful. Initially, I wondered if this stress stemmed from personal overload or a lack of activity. However, after seeing others offer similar advice, I realized the issue wasn't with me but with the content of the messages themselves.