Please Don’t Just Say “Hello” in Chat

Some time ago, I saw someone’s Microsoft Teams status mention nohello. It was simple but life changing, and I’ve been using/sharing it ever since.

See the source image

What to remember:

  1. Don’t ping someone with a simple “Hello!” or “How are you?” and wait for them to respond.
  2. Make your message useful by providing context and specifying what you need e.g. “Hi! I am looking for XYZ, do you have the link from the other day?”

Why we love this:

  • It doesn’t make the other person guess what you need from them… are you messaging them just to say hi or check-in? or did you actually need something?
  • It allows the other person to respond to you with what you need as soon as they read your message… they don’t need to say “Hey! What’s up?” or awkwardly ask “How can I help you?” and then wait for you to respond an hour later.

How I use this rule (examples):

  • Hey Andrew, thanks for meeting with me the other day. Just wanted to check in on XYZ and see if you have an update on that?
  • Hi Kaitlyn, hope you’re well! Quick question – [proceed to ask my question]
  • Hey Paul, nice to e-meet you. Ellie suggested that I talk to you about XYZ. Can I set up some time with you next week?
  • Hi Stella, it’s been a while. Just wanted to catch up and see how things have been going for you!

What NOT to do:

  • Hey Nora, can I ask you a question? (they are obviously going to say yes)
  • Hi Jackie, how are you doing? (they are 99% going to say “good! how about you?”)
  • Hello Iris. (😬😬😬😬😬😬😬)

TLDR

Since I’ve updated my status to the below, so many people have reached out to me saying how useful the no hello rule was for them, so I totally encourage you to use it and share it with your peers.

Hiya! Please feel free to skip formalities and tell me what you want to chat about: aka.ms/nohello

What my Microsoft Team’s status actually says

Found this useful? Feel free to share this post (kkarenism.com/nohello) or these other ones with your peers:

Here’s to more productive conversations that save our time and energy… and please don’t ever start and stop a conversation at “Hello” again!

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