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.
|
