Knowing how to choose a telephone headset doesn’t have to be that difficult.
Knowing how to connect your telephone to your headset is complicated enough. Trying to work out which lead connects your chosen headset to your specific phone can get a bit confusing.
There are basically 4 questions you need to ask yourself:
- Am I working in a noisy environment?
- Am I spending most of my time exclusively on the phone, or do I also need to talk to people around me?
- What wearing style do I prefer?
- Corded or Cordless?
The answers to these questions will narrow your search and help you pinpoint the kind of headset you need.
Let us look at each of these questions in more detail
1 – Am I working in a noisy environment?
This question may appear as if it could be important for you as the headset user, but in actual fact, it’s far more important for the person at the other end of the line. If your workplace is noisy and you have a normal headset, your correspondent will hear you as well as background “noise” from everywhere around you. You probably won’t be aware of it, but it will hinder your call.
So if the answer is yes, you should look for a “Noise Cancelling” headset. They are a little more expensive, but that small cost will make a big difference. For one, you won’t need to repeat yourself in order to be heard.
Options
Noise Cancelling
Voice Tube
2 – Am I spending most of my time exclusively on the phone, or do I also need to talk to people around me?
The reason for this question is simple. If you spend all day on the phone, a two eared headset (also known as binaural) will allow you to concentrate solely on your phone call. You will be less distracted by noises around you, allowing you to converse in a natural manner. This can translate into having the volume down a little more than you might have with a one eared (Monaural) headset which if you’re on the phone for hours at a time, can make a difference by the end of the day.
On the other hand, if you need make phone calls, but also speak to colleagues around you, a monaural headset is far better suited to this. You can simply keep your headset on so you’re ready to answer a call, but at the same time you can talk your colleague.
Options
One eared / Monaural
Two eared / Binaural
3 – What wearing style do I prefer?
This is very much a personal preference. Everybody is different.
The styles are either over the head, over the ear, behind the head as well as convertible options giving you the best of both.
As a general rule, most people choose the over the head wearing style. When you are going to be wearing a headset for most of the working day, this option is the most popular as it’s considered more comfortable. There is a big difference between having something hanging on your ear for 4 hours than something sitting on your head. Consequently, there are many more headsets of this style available in the market. These come in Monaural and Binaural models.
The over the ear headsets do tend to be sleeker and less intrusive than the over the head models. For those among us with expensive hair styles or even a bouffant, these headsets are for you! These over the ear headsets are by default monaural. They come with different size options to help fit on your ear more comfortably.
There are only a few behind the neck headsets available. They were designed to combine the sleekness of the over the ear, but with Binaural options. There are not many of these available now.
Convertible headsets give you more options. They tend to combine an over the head option with an over the ear model. They can be especially useful if you are sharing a headset with someone or if you really can’t make your mind up.
Options
Over the Head
Over the Ear
Behind the Neck
Convertible
4 – Corded or Cordless?
This question is pretty straight forward. Corded headsets are physically connected to your telephone by a connection lead, while cordless headsets are not. In actual fact, cordless headsets come with a base unit and this base unit is connected to your phone, but as your headsets uses DECT technology to connect to the base, you are free to move around.
These cordless headsets have a good battery life. They can last a full working day of good use, although it always pays to leave them on the cradle to charge during you lunch break. They have a range of about 80ft, but this can be far less in the real world where you have walls and other things that interfere with your headset.
They are also more expensive than corded headsets for obvious reasons, but not by as much as you might think!
Conclusion
If you think about the environment you are going to be using your headset, you can really narrow down your search. When you find the headset you like but are worried about price, don’t be afraid to look at our refurbished headset range. There are plenty of bargains available and all headsets come with a 12 month warranty.