TEST YOUR CQ (COURTESY QUOTIENT)

You call a colleague and put your phone on speakerphone. Another coworker

is in the room. You should:

• Mention neither the speakerphone nor the other

  person in the room.

• Tell the person on the phone that you wish to use the speakerphone.

  Mention the other person in the room, and ask the person on the phone if

  this is okay.

• Tell the person on the phone that you are using the speakerphone, but don’t

  mention the other person in the room.

You have exchanged a couple of angry e-mails with a coworker who, in your

opinion, is being unreasonable. It’s getting out of hand. You should:

• Stop the

  communication and let things cool off.

• Send one more blistering e-mail, summarizing the situation and how upset

  you are with that person’s behavior, and cc the recipient’s boss.

• Change the medium. Call the person on the telephone, or go sit down and

  have a face-to-face conversation.

You’re presenting to a potential client. Suddenly this person’s body language

turns very negative. You should:

• Try to engage the person in some interaction.

• Stop in the middle of the presentation and ask the person what is wrong.

• Ask questions to determine what you said that was upsetting and attempt to

  rectify the situation.

• Ignore the situation and finish your presentation as planned.

You’re delivering an important presentation that you don’t want interrupted

with questions. You should:

• Refuse to answer the first question that someone

  asks. The rest of the audience will get the message.

• Tell the audience beforehand that you prefer to answer all questions at the

  end of the presentation.

• Answer questions as they are asked, even though you prefer not to.

When communicating across language barriers, putting things in writing:

• Should be avoided; it can insult the international visitor’s intelligence.

• Can be helpful; it is usually easier to read English than to hear it.

• Can be confusing; it is usually easier to hear English than to read it.

When answering a business phone, always answer:

• With a simple hello. It

  sounds more approachable and less pretentious.

• With your name.

• With your name, department, title, and a greeting.

Use social media to:

• Let all your connections know what’s going on at

  work.

• Share pictures of your colleagues so that everyone gets to know each other

• Let everyone know exactly how you feel about people and situations.

• Consistently present yourself in the way you want others to perceive you.

Learning to speak a few words of the language of clients, customers, or

coworkers whose first language is different from yours is:

• Generally a good

  idea, as the effort communicates respect for the other culture.

• Generally not a good idea because they may feel patronized.

• Generally not a good idea, because they might be offended if you make a

  mistake in vocabulary or pronunciation.

If you meet someone whose body language is much more outgoing and

expressive than yours, you should:

• Attempt to match it.

• Not attempt to match it.

You are in the office on the telephone and another call comes in. You should: 

• Ask the person if you can put him or her on hold.

• Let voicemail take it.

• Tell the person you are talking to that you must put him or her on hold a

  moment.