I haven't talked to you about one of the most powerful ways you can ever use your phone in business. One of the most powerful ways you can cement your reputation with your boss clients customers. way this phone can enhance your credibility dramatically. What's that secret? The off switch? What do I mean by that?

Well, if you're in a meeting if you're in a face to face meeting with a client, prospect, customer, important colleague, turn your phone off. It's insanely annoying the people if they're talking to you, and your phone, Oh, hang on one man, I gotta take this and they don't know what it is. For all they know. You're just, you know, placing a bet with your bookie or something. So my recommendation, if you want to really send a signal to a client customer prospect that hey, you are important here. Time is important.

Your business is important. My relationship to you and your organization is important. Turn your phone. I don't mean just on vibrate. Because if it's vibrating and lights are flashing but not ringing, it's human nature, you're gonna look they're going to look. And there's a part of you that's going to think, is there a chance this is more important?

Probably isn't. But it's going to take you away. It's going to send a signal to the person you're meeting with in person that they are not important. Well, guess what? Nobody likes to be told they're not important and they might not be that important, but you don't have to rub it in their face. So know how to turn your phone off.

I would recommend you not put on the tape. So many people go into meetings these days, and their cell phone is there. and at worst is when they start playing with it. That's the absolute worst. We've all been bored at meetings or conferences. Just One thing, if you're at a convention, there's a big keynote speaker and you're in the dark and you're on the 18th row.

And the speaker is not that interesting. Well, sure you check email, you check the sports scores. But if you're in a meeting, and someone's talking, and you're on your phone, it's frankly about the same as spitting on. You might not feel that way. But just realize other people do, too. You like it, when someone spits on you, you like it when someone tells you your time, your ideas are completely worthless.

Now, we're not here to talk about family relations and whether teenagers or other family members are on their cell phones at dinnertime. That's a different course. I'm not going there. I'm talking about just in business situations. You really are not using the full potential, the power of your cell phone, unless you know exactly how to not only turn it off, put it away. In fact, a really important meeting, don't even take it in with you.

I understand life is messy and complicated. There are exceptions but you need to plan for the exceptions and lay the groundwork. So if you have a meeting with your boss, but you're the most important client to your company is planning on calling you they said I'll call you tomorrow morning. We got to resolve this one issue it only take two seconds, then I would say to my boss, I have this out just because Mr. Smithers is calling and he has one quick question and I promised I'd be available to him. Your boss is gonna realize that Smithers is the person paying everyone's bills because it's the most important client, your boss isn't going to be offended and have it out and let the person know. You could also have something that any fair minded person considers Very important personal issue that should take precedence.

You could say, Excuse me, everyone, I don't mean to be rude. But close family members about to have a baby. I'm expecting a call from the hospital anytime it's the only call I would take. That's why my phone is out. No one's going to be offended by that. Or if you have a family member who's in the hospital and said, Look, I'm taking and have this out just because I might be getting a call from the hospital.

My father's in intensive care. No one's gonna be offended. But if you just have the phone out, and you don't say why, and you're gonna, yeah. It's gonna cut against your credibility. You seem like someone who can't focus, who's scattered, who's just all over the place. That is not reputation that's going to enhance your career.

So my recommendation anyway, any important meeting phone, not just on Viber But all preferably not visible. Ideally it's not even in the same room with you