Never just text your reports "hi" | Zapier

• What do you say after you pick up the phone? Most people say "hello," and there's a reason for that: phone companies taught people to say it in the 1800s. 
• The word caught on, in part, because phone books instructed people to begin conversations by saying "hello" as a way to confirm both people were on the line. This habit, and the word, stuck. The medium created a new kind of etiquette.
• But team chat tools are a different medium than the telephone and require a different kind of etiquette.

Because text-based messages are different from a phone call, saying "hello" before getting to the point actually makes communication take longer.

This is less efficient than the alternative:

• You say hello and ask your question.
• Eventually, the other person answers the question.