Voice chat etiquette: how to be good company

• Use headphones if you can. Without them, the other person’s voice can come out of your speaker and back into your microphone, so they hear themselves echo.
• Mind the background. A TV, a fan or traffic noise is much louder to the other person than it is to you. Mute yourself if something noisy is going on.
• Hold the phone steady. Moving the microphone away from your mouth makes you fade in and out.
• Don’t eat into the microphone. Crunching carries.

On a voice call, listening is half the conversation, and the half people notice most. Let the other person finish. Respond to what they actually said, not to what you were planning to say next. If you both start talking at once, offer the floor: “Sorry, go ahead.”

It’s also worth being explicit when you’re enjoying the conversation. Without a face to read, a simple “this is fun” tells the other person they’re doing fine.

• If someone changes the subject or gives a short answer, take the hint and move on.
• Don’t ask for personal details: real names, locations, social media or phone numbers. If they offer, that’s their choice.
• Don’t send photos the other person didn’t ask for, and never anything sexual.
• If someone asks you to stop, stop.

Harassment, hate, sexual content and pressure aren’t allowed on Whislink at all; the terms of use spell out the rules.

Every call ends, and most end before anyone wants to make a speech about it. A short goodbye is plenty: “I’ve got to go, this was really nice. Take care!” If the conversation simply isn’t working, it’s fine to say so gently and leave.

And if you’re on the other side of a sudden goodbye, don’t take it personally. People get interrupted, lose signal or just run out of steam. The next voice is one tap away.

You don’t have to manage someone else’s bad behaviour. End the call. If it was more than just awkward, report them from the call options menu (they aren’t notified) or block them so you’re never matched again. See staying safe on Whislink.

• Your first call with a stranger
• Conversation starters for talking to strangers
• Why voice-only? The case for talking without faces