etiquette

Readers Conclude: Cheers To End Email Is Fine

12:30PM Angus Kidman | Signing off an email with ‘cheers’ might be too “mock British” for our US counterparts, but the consensus amongst Lifehacker readers is that it’s perfectly acceptable on this side of the Pacific. More »

Avoid Inappropriate Email Signoffs

8:30AM Azadeh Ensha | Whether work-related or on personal time, most of us send multiple emails daily, which is why learning how to properly close the correspondence is essential because, as the Washington Post notes, you can pay the price for a “careless closing”. More »

The Most Annoying Places To Talk On A Mobile Phone

1:00AM Kevin Purdy | Intel commissioned a survey of 2,000 people on when and where mobile phone talking, texting or browsing is annoying, and, boy, do people have answers. 90 percent of them are “frustrated” with how people generally use phones. Nearly 75 percent are most annoyed by texting while driving, more than half loathe hearing conversations in restaurants, and just as many hate seeing phones in movie theatres. The results are worth noting for a quick reminder on how to be less annoying, or as proof that technology sometimes advances far faster than human politeness. [CNN Money, photo]

Photograph Your Food Without Being A Jerk

11:00PM Kevin Purdy | When the dish you ordered arrives beautifully arranged and absolutely glistening with flavor, it can be hard not to turn into a restaurant shutterbug. Chow.com’s Table Manners column suggests practical limits on how far one indulges their foodie photo fetish. More »

Dealing With The Tardiness Of Others

1:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | Taking control of your own schedule is one thing, but what do you do when it’s always the other party showing up late? Photo by Street Spirit. More »

Pronounce Names Saves You From Embarrassment

3:30AM Adam Pash | Search engine Pronounce Names—perhaps unsurprisingly—contains a database of names complete with proper pronunciation, saving you from embarrassment next time you face a challenging name. More »

What’s So Wrong With One-Line Email Anyway?

4:30PM Angus Kidman | Yesterday, Lifehacker US founder Gina suggested tagging your email as “sent from your mobile phone” to justify only writing a brief reply. The mild deception involved doesn’t bother me, but I can’t help thinking that there’s nothing wrong with writing a brief reply no matter what your preferred platform is. We’re all suffering from email overload, so keeping replies brief is a bigger courtesy than going on at length for form’s sake. In a similar vein, I’m also a fan of the EOM tag for really brief messages. What do you think? Does email require lengthy replies, or is it acceptable to just get straight to the point with people you know? More »

Are Aussies Too Brash To Work Overseas?

12:00PM Angus Kidman | Expat blogger Matthew Gain taps into recent news stories about how Australians behave in the workplace and discusses his own experiences working in London. He suggests that Australian directness can indeed be a problem when adapting into other workplace environments, and that this isn’t always obvious if you work in an apparently similar culture like the UK: In my case I spent six months not knowing what I didn’t know and so went about my business thinking it was easy and exactly the same as back home. The next six months were some of the hardest in my working life as I realised what I didn’t know. Have you found being Australian a help or a hindrance when working overseas (or dealing with overseas organisations)? Share your experience in the comments. Tips for Aussies wanting to work in the UK More »

Learn How To Pronounce Names Correctly

6:00AM Lifehacker US Edition | We’ve all been there. You look at a list of names for a meeting or at a new business card and you have absolutely no idea there was a last name with that many vowels. HowToSayThatName.com is a web site devoted to cataloguing both first and last names, spoken by native speakers. No idea how to pronounce last names like “Nyugen” or “Dokht”? Look the name up and play the embedded audio file to hear it. While a mispronounced name here and there is unavoidable, saying someone’s name correctly when they are accustomed to it being butchered goes a long way whether in a boardroom or at a barbecue. How to Say that Name [via Ian's Messy Desk] More »

How To Fold A Handkerchief

9:00AM Lifehacker US Edition | You may not wear the kind of clothing on a daily basis that requires the Dapper Dan look of a properly-folded handkerchief tucked in the breast pocket, but knowing how to fold and tuck one away will save you from looking like the chump that just shoved it in there and fished out a lump of silk. The writers at the tips and tricks blog TipNut dug up a vintage guide from the 1950s to help you fold and place your handkerchief like a proper modern gentleman. More worried about not being able to tie a tie than fold a handkerchief? Check out how to perfectly tie a tie and learn to tie a tie in under ten seconds. Have your own clothing trick or wish you had a Dapper Dan trick of your own? Sound off in the comments below. How to Fold a Pocket Handkerchief More »