Time Management - Marc Mancini
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104<br />
<strong>Time</strong> <strong>Management</strong><br />
call, thereby overcoming its one great drawback: that it communicates<br />
aurally in what has become a visual world. Visual<br />
telephones will bring whole new dimensions to the conference<br />
call and to computer communications, using the greater speed<br />
and clarity of DSL lines—the high-speed “children” of the telephone<br />
line.<br />
But used improperly—which is easy to do—the telephone<br />
can be a black hole of time. Here are six ways in which the telephone<br />
can drain valuable and often unanticipated moments<br />
from your life—and what to do about each of them.<br />
Setback 1: Talking too long on each call. Two kinds of people<br />
inhabit this world: those who hate talking on the phone and<br />
those who relish it. In either case—and depending on who is<br />
controlling the conversation, which is often the person who<br />
made the call—more time is often spent on the phone (especially<br />
in work situations) than is necessary. A few tricks can<br />
help trim your calls:<br />
• Minimize the opening chitchat. At least a little social talk<br />
at the onset of a call helps personalize what is to follow.<br />
But it can take time and divert you from your purpose. Be<br />
very aware of that initial socializing and keep it to a minimum.<br />
• Write out, in advance, a list of all the topics you intend to<br />
cover. Such an inventory will help organize your conversation<br />
more efficiently. (This, of course, usually works only<br />
if you make the call.)<br />
• Take control of the conversation when someone else calls.<br />
This is critical if the other person is poorly organized or<br />
gabby. If he or she seems stuck in the social opening, wait<br />
for a pause and say, “So what can I do for you?” If the<br />
business portion of the call moves aimlessly or runs too<br />
long, interject something like “Sorry, but I have to be at a<br />
meeting in five minutes. Let’s try to wrap this up.”<br />
• Keep a three-minute hourglass on your desk and turn it<br />
when you begin speaking. This tactic, recommended by