When you telecommute, your phone conversations are probably the closest direct communications you’ll have with your boss, co-workers, etc. You’ll not only have direct phone conversations, but all your meetings will be by phone too.

So it’s important these phone calls stay completely professional.

Now imagine how it looks if you’re in the middle of talking through your latest presentation to a large group by phone and suddenly your wife/husband/room-mate/teenage-daughter picks up the home phone and starts dialing. Then, still not realizing you are on the phone and hearing voices they start saying “Hello? Hello? Is someone there?”

The only plus side about being on the phone at this point is no-one in the meeting can see how red your face has just turned!

If you share a house with anyone, a separate phone line for frequent telecommuting is an absolute must! And even if you live alone, remember you will be forwarding your work phone in one way or another to your home work line (see my previous blog on this subject). So unless you’re willing to change your answering machine message to something sounding very business-like, you still should consider other options.

But this does not mean you need to spend a lot of money. There are options out there to keep the costs down. Often your phone company will offer a package deal for getting a second line. Or you can get a second number attached to you cellphone plan which is quite inexpensive.

Or you can look into VOIP (Voice Over IP) options which basically gives you a phone line over your internet. Skype is the most well-known of these. Skype allows you to make free calls to other people’s computers who have Skype. You can also use it to make and receive calls to/from phones, for a fee, but depending on how many calls you make, it may be a cost-effectives solution for you. 

If you’re looking for ‘free’, here’s another idea. You can use your cell phone as your home work line as long as you are willing to answer it all the time in a business-like manner (which may take a few of your friends by surprise at first, but they’ll adjust).

Surf around on the internet and find an option that works best for you!

Technorati Tags: telecommuting,  home office, communications, phone