As a business owner and recruiter, I talk to many people.  And I  have many different types of conversations throughout the day:  interviews, business development, keeping up with my professional network, discussing new business partnerships, and fielding the random incoming call.

One thing I've realized, is even just a few of these calls can eat up a large chunk  my day.  An interview conversation, if there are no time limits, can easily hit the one hour mark...and there goes an eight of a "standard" work day.   Throw in a couple more calls like that, and I'm quickly playing catchup with everything else I have to do.

The trick to keeping calls short, is to start each call by letting the person at the other end know the call needs to have a time limit.  There are a number of things you can say, like "I'll need to keep the call short because I have another in 15 minutes."  However, it's best to stick with the truth  and something along the lines of "...I have another commitment in 15 minutes."  That way, not matter what the commitment (meeting, project deadline, or needing to get to the next level of Tetris), it's always true.

Then, if needed (and if you are to be successful, it's always needed), you can politely end the phone conversation by letting the other person know you have to go, otherwise  you will be late for your next commitment.  A true professional will respect your time and your obligations.

On that note, I must go, I have another commitment!

Next up:  Keeping Phone Calls Brief Part 2 - Stay focused with structure.