WEBVTT - Second Cup: Pick up the phone

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to save time by picking up the phone.

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<v Speaker 1>Once upon a time, as in thirty years ago, people

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<v Speaker 1>who wish to communicate instantaneously with someone generally had to

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<v Speaker 1>pick up their phones and call them, and there were

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<v Speaker 1>downsides to this method. Sometimes people were out and before

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<v Speaker 1>cell phones, that meant their phones weren't with them. Sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>people were busy doing other things. Explaining what you want

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<v Speaker 1>on the phone has never been easy. You have to

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<v Speaker 1>put yourself out there. The recipient of the call would

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<v Speaker 1>have to respond in some way, even if she or

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<v Speaker 1>he hadn't been anticipating the question. Email and texts have

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<v Speaker 1>solved many of these problems. People can read and respond

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<v Speaker 1>when it's convenient for them. You can explain what you

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<v Speaker 1>want and disembodied words, so any rejection or uninto faded

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<v Speaker 1>responses don't hit you so personally. Because of these upsides,

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<v Speaker 1>we have a tendency to email or text to the

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<v Speaker 1>exclusion of phone calls. Indeed, there are some people who

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<v Speaker 1>are basically never pick up the phone to call someone,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's a shame because calling is often the most

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<v Speaker 1>efficient way to do anything complicated. Arranging dinner with a friend,

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<v Speaker 1>the back and forth on scheduling, restaurant choice, a reminder

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<v Speaker 1>that your friend was going to ask her roommate to join,

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<v Speaker 1>but oh wait, she's got a shellfish allergy, so maybe

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<v Speaker 1>not the crab shack, but how about that Mexican place

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<v Speaker 1>across the street. All this can easily stretch to a

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<v Speaker 1>dozen emails or texts. While a ringing phone technically interrupts

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<v Speaker 1>whatever you're doing, it does so once you chat through

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<v Speaker 1>the shellfish allergy issue and make a plan, then you

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<v Speaker 1>are done. Whereas those dozen texts will interrupt you a

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<v Speaker 1>dozen times, that's not more efficient. The phone also allows

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<v Speaker 1>you to hear emotions and react ba Based on that,

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<v Speaker 1>you can soften responses and reassure people, so that makes

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<v Speaker 1>it a good choice for any conversations that might be sensitive.

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<v Speaker 1>There's some evidence that emails are perceived more negatively than

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<v Speaker 1>the sender intended. The vocal calibrations you hear on the

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<v Speaker 1>phone allow you to interpret the sender's true intentions. Why

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<v Speaker 1>does this matter for efficiency, Well, misunderstandings waste all kinds

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<v Speaker 1>of time. Your colleague spends hours wondering whether you're mad

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<v Speaker 1>at him, rather than on advancing your team's project. So

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<v Speaker 1>go ahead and pick up the phone next time you

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<v Speaker 1>need to work through anything complicated. If you know the person,

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<v Speaker 1>you actually don't need to arrange a time to call,

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<v Speaker 1>You can just call. The sheer logistics of arranging a

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<v Speaker 1>time can eat up any time savings. Instead, learn to

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<v Speaker 1>communicate through this relatively old fashioned method, and you can

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<v Speaker 1>spend your save time doing other things like cleaning out

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<v Speaker 1>your inbox in the meantime. This is thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's B the number four then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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