Instant Messaging (IM) is great – and there’s still a lot of scope for corporate adoption. It’s particularly useful when you want to ask a quick question to someone who you don’t really know that well. It’s not as scary as calling someone you’ve never met, and it’s a lot quicker than an email which usually has to have a lot of “I’m sorry for bothering you this way but I got your name from abc and I was wondering if you could possibly help me find how I can do …”.
An instant message can look like “Hi – it’s Jon here from accounts. Do you know where I can find the official expense form?” and the reply can be instant, whereas an email may not be replied to for days, if at all (especially if the person you’re trying to contact is on holiday).
However, whereas you can get the answer quickly, I find it can be difficult to actually end an instant messaging conversation, especially if it is with someone you don’t know. Here’s an example:
A : “Hi – I heard you might be able to help me find x”
B : “Sure – it’s here : http://jonmell.co.uk/. Once you’ve filled it in send it to person@company.com.
A : “That’s great.”
B : “No worries”
A : “Many thanks for your help”
B : “Sure don’t worry about it.”
A : “See you later”
B : “Bye”
A : “Bye”
It definitely happens more with people you don’t know so well – if you know someone I guess it’s more comfortable just to end the conversation without doing so formally. Anyone else observed this behaviour in themselves/others?
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June 4th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
LOL!!!
True True.
We need to invent a universal instant message sign-off. Polite, but short. Maybe using symbols?
Dr J
June 4th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Or perhaps start with it – a little businesslike codeword to say that the communication is purely for business and doesn’t need to get overly cordial (reasonable manners and politeness permitting), as it’s an information exchange.
June 5th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Thanks guys – a new smilie perhaps?
December 8th, 2008 at 9:58 am
A good post with a good point
When i have to end a conversation at work i normally (lie) and say “ok great thanks for your help, ive got to get back to work now”
that seems polite, professional and fairly quick
February 18th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Maybe using just using “bye” within the converstation to signal that you are ready to finish the chat.
E.g.
A : “Hi – I heard you might be able to help me find x”
B : “Sure – it’s here : http://jonmell.co.uk/. Once you’ve filled it in send it to person@company.com.
A : “Many thanks for your help. Bye”
B : “Sure don’t worry about it. Bye”
October 20th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I encounter this at work all the time. I like to use no closing whatsoever, wait a few minutes until I’m pretty sure that the person is engaged in something else, and they say, “Well, Okay then – bye.”
May 15th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
when i need to end a conversation what i do is use smilies as a reply for everything. basically, i fill up my end of the conversation with them. once u start doin that the other person kinda gets the hint(hopefully). even if he or she doesn’t, no conversation can last long without two active participants.