only hello
Everyone enjoys pleasantries.
So let every conversation be just hello.
✅ Always do this
It may seem trivial, but adding an extra "hello" before your typical salutatory hello allows for enhanced greetings-focused communication. Why not let the entirety of your conversation be just as pleasant as the salutation with which it began?
If you feel it's a bit brusque to simply say "hello", you can preface your message with as many more pleasantries as you see fit.
For example:
- "hi! hello!"
- "hello hello!"
- "hello hello? hello hello hello hello, hello hello! 🎵🎶🎵"
- etc.
When done right - everyone's happy and fully welcomed! 🎉
❌ Or else...
Note that Keith wasted time asking a direct question, when he could have instead had a great conversation of hello's. His lack of professionalism significantly reduced the number of pleasantries he could share with his coworkers. In fact, Tim could have spent all of that wasted time saying hello to other colleagues around the office instead!
People who do this are generally trying to be to-the-point by jumping right into the request, but are ignoring the ways in which conversations naturally happen in person or on the phone - and that's great for productivity and efficiency! But it's 2022 and chat is neither of those things.
Your coworker is stuck at home, and is probably in such desperate need of social interaction that they have conversations with their cat. So despite best intentions, you're actually just making the other person feel more disconnected by not wishing them hello.
So only say hello, not just once but over and over again!