5 Sneaky ways to cut calls short with family and friends
Working at home is great. You set your own hours, are your own boss and wear pajamas to work if you feel like it. Unfortunately, there’s an often ignored drawback to working from home: phone calls.
People take it for granted that we’ll be available to talk because we’re at home.
What I’d really like to do is throw shoes at that mentality and cut the call short because I work by the hour and I’m not getting paid to talk to you.
Saying it is easy. But how are you going to cut that call short without offending anyone? Not so easy when it’s your mother on the phone is it?
However, it can be done successfully. All that’s required is a little ingenuity and bucket loads of sneakiness.
I’ll have to call you back; I have another call coming in
It works! It totally does. Thanks to the advent of caller id for call waiting, you can invent any number of important people who can be calling you.
If it’s your mother, tell her it’s your spouse. If it’s a friend, tell them it’s your mother. And if it’s your spouse – I’ll leave you to decide what to say.
Of course, another call doesn’t necessarily have to be coming in – if you know what I mean.
Oh no! Lunch/Dinner’s burning!
Make sure you don’t give the person on the other end any chance to ask more questions. That just prolongs the call. Hang up and go check. Just in case.
Hello? I think I’m losing reception. Hello? Can you hear me? Hello?
Ah, my favorite technique. It doesn’t need any explanation.
As deceptive and sneaky as it is, pretending that I’ve suddenly lost reception never fails to work – or amuse.
Cell phones are ideal for this. Keep a toffee wrapper at hand to create “disturbance” in the connection.
Hi, you’ve reached my voice mail…
So what if you’re home. Your voice mail can turn into your best friend. Screen calls or record a separate message to discourage people from calling back. Use your imagination. The possibilities are limitless.
Or you could simply let it ring if you don’t have voice mail. Just make sure you do have caller id! You wouldn’t want to miss out on a client’s call.
Call Yourself
This is an extreme measure. If you’re stuck on the phone with someone you feel you absolutely cannot get away with fooling then call yourself.
Play the ringtone on your cell phone countless time, till the person on the other end asks you to pick up. If they say they’ll hold, pretend you didn’t hear. Simply say “Thanks! I’ll call you back.”
It would be better if you downloaded a ringtone on your computer to play in case you’re not in the vicinity of another phone.
Let’s hear it
How do you get off the phone when you need to work? Ever had to apply sneaky tactics to do so?
