How do you say hello in this day and age?

The concept of how to say hello in the current virtual world is one that I find very interesting. For years the introduction was one of the highest forms of validation in the business world. Often two men, (because there were few women working at that time) would meet over drinks, dinner or at a club and discuss the issues of the day and then if they found each other agreeable, they would exchange business cards.

This was a very time honored tradition and more often than not the initial meeting could only be arranged by a mutual acquaintance so there had to be a common frame of reference to begin with. It was also considered to be very bad form to discuss one's actual business during the initial meeting so as you can see it was very much a formal and ritualistic endeavor to network.

In today's age the opposite is true. We can connect with people that we may never meet. The informality of the meetings are really a case of one friend emailing another seeing if they might want to meet with a third friend. Usually based on the mutual friends word, the two will meet together often times virtually. So then the question becomes how does one say hello in this day and age.

Well, I have always favored the " Hello, this is Rick Sheehy," approach when answering the phone. I always sign off emails to new introductions as Sincerely, Rick Sheehy. I believe this way I demonstrate a knowledge of proper communications and show a professionalism that is often lacking in today's overly casual environment.

I am also a firm believer that communications needs to be refined so that we teach people, especially younger people that there are various methods of communications , (and by that I am not talking about tools.) Too often people think that the casual vernacular they use when speaking to friends is appropriate in the workplace. In some circumstances it may be, but in most professional work situations a different type of language is required so where a simple nod may have sufficed before, a more robust good morning Bill or hello Nancy may be the more reasonable tool to use while in a more professional setting.

In unrelated news the Red Sox continue to disappoint by slipping into second place. As usual, the scrubs of the league are beating up on the Sox. This is typical Red Sox, if you put the greatest team ever made on the field the Sox will beat them handily. The 1962 Mets will take 2 out of 3 from them.

After a one day return to June weather it seems like we are heading back to normal summer weather. God I hope so!!!