The mobile phone has not helped the quality of calls we make. In fact, mobile phone conversations are usually pretty lame: choppy, distracted, banal and often interrupted. When someone calls me, and they are ordering a burger as they talk to me, it is not a very good experience.
Over the last year or so, I’ve decided to stop making important calls on the run. When I want to give good phone, I shut down my laptop, spend a few minutes collecting my thoughts…then I call someone on my phone and totally concentrate on that call.
The results? Much more gets accomplished and the listener can sense your attention and respect for them. I know we are all busy, and feel like travel time is perfect phone time – but it is not. Working on time management may do more for you than cramming phone calls into driving, shopping or some other mobile activities.
I believe that the quality of our conversations determines the quality of our relationships and business life. They provide the nutrition that feeds both. So why would you eat ‘fast phone’? The take away here: Schedule important phone calls (sales, relationship, project) based on time and location. In this new world, getting voice-to-voice time is as hard to get as face-time. So don’t blow it by opting for mobility and convenience.
