Ring Ring Ring.....
Mom: "Hello?"
You: "Hey mom, what's up?"
Mom: "Oh nothing, I'm just here with so-and-so. Would you like to talk to them?"
You: *Silence*.... "Well, um...."
Mom: "Here, I'll give them the phone."
This is honestly happens to me at least 1x a week.
Why is this so annoying? The person you are calling is basically throwing you under the bus. See, the other person with your mom (or whomever you originally called) has already heard your mom ask if you'd like to talk to them. If you tell your mom, "No, I don't really want to talk to so-and-so," then you might as well be rejecting this other person face-to-face. Then, when your mom doesn't hand them the phone, they are left sitting there, knowing you didn't want to talk to them. For the rest of the conversation you feel like crap.
Solution? It's 3 simple steps.
1) Pretend you didn't hear your mom (or whomever you called) ask that question.
2) Instead, move forward swiftly with the reason that you called.
3) Keep the conversation short and to-the-point. Then the "rejected person" will feel like it wasn't them that you were rejecting, but that perhaps you were simply pressed for time.
Has this ever happened to you? If so, how do you handle it gracefully?
Alright, off to get ready for the Harry Potter premier! I'm bringing my boyfriend and two kiddies I babysit.
Love,
Dylan