A Colleague Sends You Hi and Then Nothing for Ten Minutes

A message arrives from a colleague. Hi. You reply. Hi, how are you? And then you wait. Five minutes later, sometimes ten, the real question appears. By then you have switched away from what you were doing, started wondering if something is wrong, and checked the window three times. It is a small thing, and it happens many times a week in most teams. It is also one of the easiest habits to change, as long as you remember why people do it. Usually it is politeness. In conversation you would never walk up to someone and fire a question at them without a greeting first. People bring that habit into chat, especially if they are new, junior, or come from a culture where starting with the request feels rude. They are being considerate in the way they know. So do not lecture them, and do not send them a link to a website about it in front of the team. Instead, show them a better pattern, and give them permission to use it. Something like this. Feel free to send the whole question in your fi