Ten Ways To Spend Less Time On The Phone

Picture the last hour of a typical work day. Reviewing the day’s activities, you’re shocked to discover how much time you spent on the phone. Even as you’re adding up the number of calls, the phone rings again. By now, you’re not in a receptive frame of mind. Here goes another twenty or thirty minutes, you suppose. Meanwhile, you can hardly see your desk for the uncompleted paper work.

During the twenty-three years I spent in management, I struggled to find ways to reduce the time I talked on the phone. I’m glad to share my ten most beneficial tips with you.

-- One: Budget (yes, budget) your phone time.

With six calls to make, allow yourself no more than thirty minutes to complete all six of them. Obviously, this constraint will discipline you to get to the point, cover the point and make an exit.

-- Two: As I’ve just indicated, batch your calls.

Instead of scattering them throughout the day, make your six calls consecutively. You’ll shift into a telephone mood, comparable to what athletes call the zone. The second call becomes easier than the first, the third call even easier. Your efficiency escalates, and you accomplish more sooner.

-- Three: Rely on e-mail more consistently.

This is my favorite way to avoid phone tag. E-mail allows us to send messages at our most convenient time. Too, we’ll probably use fewer words (and time) than we would use by phone.

-- Four: Make calls from your cell phone (if you can handle the phone safely while driving).

Tell someone: Hi, Ted, I’ve got a couple of minutes to chat as I’m driving into downtown Atlanta. Say that, and you will trigger them to get to the heart of the call instantly.

-- Five: Outline what you intend to cover in your call.

The outline keeps you from rambling, and from having to call again to cover an item you forgot to mention—embarrassing as well as time consuming. Ordinarily, I use a key word outline that resembles a grocery list. For example, in calling to get details about my next speaking engagement, my notes might include: time, duration, microphone, handouts, number attending, introducer, convention theme.

-- Six: Ask a colleague to interrupt you after ten minutes if you haven’t hung up by then.

So when the co-worker enters your office you can say, quite honestly, that your assistant has signaled that he needs your attention, so we’ll have to conclude for now.

-- Seven: Delegate outgoing calls to others who can make them as well as you can.

With good judgment, we can assign more calls than we are in the habit of assigning. Remain alert, of course, to identifying those instances when a personal call from you is irreplaceable.

-- Eight: When you’re leaving for two hours or two days, give staff members the information that’s necessary to satisfy callers you’re expecting.

Say, for example: When Judy Johnson calls, ask her if we can change her committee meeting from Wednesday morning to Thursday afternoon. This way, Judy hears what you want her to hear, and that’s one less call for you to return.

-- Nine: Call people just before lunch and just before closing time.

I guarantee they won’t be longwinded then.

-- Ten: Make a summary statement and bid farewell:

Barbara, it’s my understanding that you have given me permission to exceed two or three budget items as long as I stay within the total departmental budget. Thanks for the clarification. That’s all I needed to know. Goodbye.

Those are my top ten tips for callers. They work. Use them consistently, and the phone can become more your ally than your enemy, saving time instead of stealing time.

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