No matter who you are talking to on the phone, there are times when you need to quickly wrap up a call. This minHour article will go over some tips and tricks to get off the phone.
Straightforward Method
Explain it isn’t a great time.
You’re busy with a project, have a deadline and you’re trying to get a certain task done, etc. Ask if they can call you back and give them a better time.
Talkers sometimes don’t understand subtle hints so it’s alright to insist you get back to them later.
Starting chatter with them only makes it harder to get off the phone.
Limit your chatter and try to determine the purpose of the call.
Say you were supposed to call someone back or before a certain time.
Tell them you’ll call them back once that conversation is over.
Theatrical Method
Ring your doorbell and say that somebody is here and you have to go.
Knocking on the door is also an option for those without doorbells.
Hang up and if you’re on a cordless or mobile phone, say it lost battery power.
- If they ring back say you really need to charge it and you can’t talk
Ask your mom, room-mate, sibling or friend to tell you to get off the phone.
Pretend you can no longer hear them and hang up.
Say that you have to eat, use the restroom or must get ready to shower.
Avoidance Method
Let the call go to voice mail
Let the call go to voice mail and send them an email or text message saying how sorry you are you missed the call.
Arrange a time to call back. You can say you’ll call them “on the way” to something or in between tasks to guarantee a short call back.
- Telling them you got the message too late to return the call also works.
Keep an eye on your caller ID
If it doesn’t show up with a number you may want to avoid the call. Someone who expects you to avoid their call may privatize or block the number.
Tips
- If you say that you’ll ring them back after you eat, use the bathroom or shower then you should try. If you forget, be apologetic. So just say “Hey, I need to eat/go to the toilet/go for a shower. I gotta go. Bye”
- If you are frequently cut short on your phone calls you should “tease” them with why you are calling and that you will be calling later. Ask for a good time to call and try to keep it short.
- Most people will respect you are watching the “last few minutes of a movie”. Use your judgment based on who is calling.
Warnings
- If you don’t do these steps properly and you make it obvious you’re looking for an excuse to get off the phone, your friend may get offended. So be careful.