5 Tips for Productive Phone Calls

5 Tips for Productive Phone Calls

In addition to email, talking on the phone can be another inefficient use of time.

1. Schedule your calls. Instead of telling someone you will call them or “give me a call”, set a time on the calendar. This makes the call a part of your schedule and not an interruption to it.

2. Have an intention, or outcome for the call. What decision or agreement do you want when you conclude the conversation? If it will be a complicated conversation with many decisions and topics, create an agenda and share that prior to the call with the other party or parties.

3.Cold Calls and Followup Calls. Create a script to allow you to be more relaxed as well as to make sure that you cover the important points.

4. Unscheduled Incoming Calls. When you recieve a call, consider whether it is best handled now or later. If it is not a priority and will take more than 5 minutes, ask to call them back at a scheduled time.

5. Ending the Conversation. When you feel that the conversation has accomplished its goal, summarize what has been discussed, review any agreements that have been made and how each of you will move forward. This will be a clear signal that the call is ending, and should dissuade unnecessary chit chat.

The more control you take over your time, the more focused and productive you will be.

Christine Giri is a productivity consultant who is best known as the Time Tamer. With proven strategies, Christine has helped countless business owners and their employees manage their time and work spaces to ultimately reclaim time and profits. You can contact her at http://www.simplyorganizedca.com