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Home > Management > Using Instant Messaging Effectively
Like any form of communcation, of course, IM has its pros, cons, and rules for etiquette. Here are some of the tricks I've figured out to make IM work for me:
Using Instant Messaging Effectively
Instant messaging (IM) can be a great tool for quickly communicating with colleagues inside and outside your company. My IM address book has the name of practically everyone in my company that I need to speak with on a regular basis. For a Product Manager, this can add up to lots of names.Like any form of communcation, of course, IM has its pros, cons, and rules for etiquette. Here are some of the tricks I've figured out to make IM work for me:
- Always start a new conversation with "yt?" or "hey": This is the polite way to get someone's attention. I once made the mistake of launching into a detailed IM conversation with someone while, unbeknownst to me, they were in a conference room projecting their desktop to a meeting with 10 people. I heard about my disruption later in a big way! (Of course, if you're projecting your desktop, don't forget to turn off IM so you don't get needless interruptions either.)
- Take a moment to think before you write: Particularly when I have multiple IM windows open, several times I've almost sent the wrong person a message that was meaningless or possibly even inappropriate for them. Be careful about whom you're talking to.
- Abbreviations are allowed: I'm always using yt = you there?, kwim = know what I mean, etc. I wouldn't do this in email or anything written, but IM lends itself to quick thoughts.
- Remember, you're still a professional: Don't get too lax with spelling, typos, etc., especially with colleagues. It's good to skim your contribution to the conversation before clicking enter to submit it.
- IMs can be stored indefinitely: This one cuts both ways - sometimes I've retrieved an old IM from a few weeks ago that contained an interesting URL that I wanted to look at again, but remember that whatever you're writing will likely stick around for a while. As with social media, avoid writing anything you wouldn't want to see on a billboard somewhere.
- Keep your colleagues and friends separate: Setting up different folders of IM contacts to track colleagues separately from friends separately from family helps keep your business and personal life in order. When an employee leaves the company, particularly someone I've IMed with regularly, I move them from my "colleagues" to my "friends" folder so I can quickly find them if I need to reach them again.
