Please, Don't Say Just “Hello” In Chat

Have you ever placed a phone call, said "Hi" and the immediately placed the call on hold? The short answer is probably, no. Then why would you start a Chat message that way?

Typical Chat Interaction When Starting With "Hello"

2021-08-19 12:32:12 you: Hi
2021-08-19 12:32:15 co-worker: Hello
...

# CO-WORKER WAITS WHILE YOU PHRASE YOUR QUESTION
2021-08-19 12:34:01 you: I'm working on [something] and I'm trying to do [etc...]
2021-08-19 12:35:21 co-worker: Oh, that's [answer...]

You're trying to be polite by not jumping right into the request, like you would do in person or on the phone, but Chat is neither of those things. Typing is much slower than talking. Instead of being polite, you are just making your co-worker wait for you to phrase your question, which equates to lost productivity.

A Better Way - Give Context with Your Greeting

Leading with a message that includes both a greeting and the context for your message is good for everyone.

2021-08-19 12:32:12 you: Hi -- I'm working on [something] and I'm trying to do [etc...]
2021-08-19 12:33:32 co-worker: [answers question]

Following this method has many benefits, chief amongst them being that you get help sooner, while your co-worker does not have to sit watcing a "you are busy typing..." message. Doing this, your co-worker can start thinking about their response to your question right away!

Just to be clear, the same goes for the greetings below:

• "Hello -- Are you there?"
• "Hi Bob -- quick question."
• "Do you have a sec?"
• "yt?"
• "ping"

Just ask the question!

"But, I'm Being Polite"

If you feel it's brusque to simply say "Hi" and ask the question, you can do something like this:

2021-08-19 12:32:12 you: Hi -- if you're not busy I was wondering if I could ask 
a question.  I'm working on [something] and I'm trying to do [etc...]

Conclusion

In the end, asking your question before getting a reply allows asynchronous communication. If the other party is away, and you leave before they come back, they can still answer your question, instead of just staring at a "Hello" and wondering what they missed.

Acknowledgement

This is a copy of the original website nohello.com. Acknowledgements go to the original anonymous author. And thanks to Sebastian Müller for creating the markup version file. The source of this file is publicly available on github.com.