Strict rules govern phone etiquette in professional settings in the West. Cellphones are to be silenced and ignored when in meetings, no matter who you are meeting with and when. If you have to answer, you shamefacedly and silently exit the room.In China, I was shocked the first time somebody answered a phone call while I was in the middle of a meeting with them. I had been in mid-sentence when their phone started ringing, and they immediately answered like it was no big deal. And of course, in China, it really isn’t a big deal.How you handle your phone calls all depends on your status in China. If you’re the most important person in the room, you can take all the calls you want, while other people have no choice but to continue on and pretend like you’re not on the phone with someone else. But if you’re a student in class, for example, and your phone goes off, you have to be a little more cautious – acceptable techniques include ducking your head under the desk to take the call or cupping your hand over your mouth and speaking softly. Which I still find pretty ridiculous sometimes.
Once I called a Chinese business contact with an important, time-sensitive question. When he answered the phone, his voice was hushed and hurried, and I suddenly realized he was in a meeting and probably leaning over and talking under the table. Confused and slightly appalled, I asked him to call me back at a better time. Of course he never did. I had to pester him several more times, and the next time I got through he was clearly in another meeting. This time, I didn’t hesitate to tell him what I needed and when, and miraculously we had a good conversation despite the fact that I knew he was crouching under a conference table somewhere.
It’s taken me a while to adjust to this new professional model. In China, you must be available, but not necessarily accountable; immediate, but not necessarily helpful. This is the total antithesis of Western phone culture. In the West, you’re only expected to answer when you’re fully available, and if you are not, you are expected to follow up with a reply later. But in China, things are much more fluid and flexible, and the line between professional and personal is more blurred – or at least, it is defined by standards very different from what we have in the States, and I’ve had to learn this one phone call at a time.
在西方世界，使用手机在企业正式场合都得遵守严格的规矩。不管你什么时候跟谁开会，在会议中和别人洽谈的时候必须得让手机安静，而且基本上是不能接手机的。如果你实在非得接手机的话，你就会很惭愧和沉默地离开房间。
在中国第一次一个人打断我和他的谈话去接手机令我非常惊讶。我正在说话的时候，他的手机开始响了，他马上就接手机，好像没什么大不了的。在中国，当然他这样做确实是没什么大不了的。
在中国，你开会的时候可以不可以接手机要看你的社会地位高不高。如果你是非常重要的人，你可以随便接手机，其他的人也无可奈何只得继续开会装着没有注意到你在接手机。但如果你是学生在课堂里，你的手机响了，你得小心一点：你可以将头藏在桌子下面接手机，或者你可以捂着嘴巴很小声地说话。多么荒谬！
有一次，我给一个中国生意联络打电话问他一个非常重要和紧急的问题。他在电话上听起来很小声也很匆忙，我突然觉悟到他正在开会，大概是把头藏在桌子下面跟我说话。我觉得很困惑，也很惊讶，于是建议他开完会后再给我回电话。当然他开完会后没有给我回电话。我不得不再多次打扰他才终于跟他联系上。但是他又正在开会。这一次，我毫不犹豫地告诉他我什么时候要什么东西。令人奇怪的是我们谈的很成功，尽管我知道他是藏在某处的桌子下跟我谈话。
我花了一段时间才适应这个新的业务方式。在中国，你应该随时都在，但是用不着负责任，也不一定有用处。这跟西方电话文化正好相反。在西方，你不忙才应该接电话，没有空的话得等到你有空时才回电话。在中国办事得灵活一些，不能太死板。专业世界和个人生活的边界比较模糊。至少，中国和美国的规矩很不一样，所以让我经验了很多电话交谈才逐渐明白中国办事方式.