Please help me be less loud on the telephone

March 3, 2010 10:53 AM

What are your tricks for having quiet phone conversations?

I spend a lot of my day at work on the phone. I speak in a normal volume, but everyone in the offices near me can hear me. I don't think I'm exceptionally loud, as I can also hear everyone in adjacent offices on the phone.

I know some people (especially skilled receptionists) are able to have a phone conversation where the person on the other end of the phone can hear everything but someone standing a few feet away cannot. If you have this skill, what are your tricks?

posted by Sheppagus to grab bag (5 answers total)

Turn down the speaker volume on your headset. People have a general tendency to speak about as loud as the surrounding volume, so if it's a quiet office and you can hear the other party at a lower volume level, you'll speak more softly naturally.
posted by explosion at 10:56 AM on March 3, 2010

Try speaking in a lower register, from the diaphragm. Not only will this help you get the effect you're looking for, but it will also lend authority/professionalism to your tone, as well as help you get through a long day on the phone without growing hoarse.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 10:59 AM on March 3, 2010 [1 favorite]

Do you have a headset? If you don't, get one. If you're speaking directly into a microphone in front of your face, you can be a lot quieter and still heard.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:08 AM on March 3, 2010

+1 explosion. I talk loud on the phone because all I hear is the person on the phone and they're right-in-my-ear loud. Turn down the phone volume & you'll naturally turn down your own volume.
posted by MesoFilter at 12:11 PM on March 3, 2010

I have a headset, as do the other loudtalkers in my vicinity. I will try the volume trick. It figures that no one has called me since my question was posted.
posted by Sheppagus at 12:21 PM on March 3, 2010