The so called Hi messages

Many times we get greeted by just Hi or Hey messages from our colleagues and friends in our various messaging systems. Be it Slack, Mattermost, Teams, Hangouts or whatever messaging systems that you use. This is one of the most irritating (sorry to use that word, couldn’t find a subtle one), messages that you can ever receive.


Messaging systems are meant for asynchronous messages. Expecting that the person at the other end of the conversation is always available to answer the hi/hey messages is too much of an expectation. Remember messaging someone is NOT like making a phone call. You cannot expect an immediate response there.


Follow these simple etiquettes next time you message your friend or colleague.

1. Write the complete content that you are planning to ask the person in a single message (as much as possible)
2. May be you can start with a Hi, but make sure it is a multi-line message with the actual content. There is nothing more irritating than receiving 10 notifications in the mobile or laptop when someone starts messaging you.
3. If you do not get a response, do not start nudging them immediately. There are many reasons why someone decides not to respond; they might be busy; they might have to check something before they respond; they might be away from their mobile/laptop; they might be on vacation.

Happy messaging.