get to the point

Welcome to today's issue of The Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine. The e-zine of Motivateme: Breaking the Procrastination Habit. http://www.motivateme.info. Have you signed up for your daily dose yet?
----------------------------------------------------------
 Phone calls, we all have to make them. But have you noticed that if you don't really know your subject matter - ie., you are phoning on behalf of someone, or you're unsure about what you have to ask, say or do - you will delay picking up the phone. And when you do pick up the phone, you spend a great deal of time on pleasantries.

There are a couple of direct consequences to this type of behaviour.

1. You waste your time and theirs by not getting to the point.
2. You are focussed on not hurting someone's feelings (including your own) by asking questions which may indicate that you are not as well versed in the subject matter as you should be. And no-one likes to admit they don't know something.
3. You waste time avoiding the task in the first place by doing other, and probably less important "stuff".

If this sounds like you - a couple of pointers.

Try telephoning first thing in the morning. Get the item crossed off your list of things you have been avoiding.

Admit upfront that you don't know if you have the right person, or that you are not entirely up on the topic -
"I'm not sure if you can help me on this, but I've been asked to call with regards to .... do you know anything about it? or could you put me through to someone who does?"
That takes the onus off you and does not make the other person's hackles stand on end, especially if the organisation you are chasing may be in the wrong (over charged accounts spring to mind).

And wasting your time and theirs on pleasantries - well unless you know the person really well, spending 10 minutes finding out how well they are and what they've been up to is hardly going to get your questions answered is it? So a suggestion...

"Hi John, I know it's early so I won't keep you, but I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction...."

And of course this works the other way around too - if the person on the other end of the phone won't get to the point
"you know it's been good to talk, but I've got a meeting in a couple of minutes was there something I could help you with in the meantime?" the meeting may only be with yourself and your desire to get home at a reasonable hour, but you don't need to tell them that....

So get to the point, stop wasting your time and theirs, and you will save yourself some precious time to spend on those things and people that really do matter

--------------------------------------------------------
No Spamming or List Sharing - We do not share, nor give out, our subscription list to third parties.

The contents of this E-zine may be copied, reproduced, or freely distributed for all nonprofit purposes without the consent of the author as long as the author's name and contact information are included. Example: Reproduced with permission from the Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine E-Zine. The newsletter of Motivateme: Breaking the Procrastination Habit - http://www.motivateme.info.

All contents Copyright (c) 2006 Motivateme.info except where indicated otherwise. All rights reserved worldwide.