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Telephone etiquette. Scripts and speech modules for incoming calls

Business information

Promotion of goods and services

Personnel management

Which is correct...?

Business etiquette

Business etiquette
Positions of the interlocutors at the negotiating table

Business communications

Municipalities

Telephone etiquette: rules and regulations

Let's consider the norms of telephone etiquette, which are followed today by progressive companies that care about their image. If you strive to look like a professional in the eyes of your partners and clients, then compliance with the laws set out below is simply mandatory for you.

The norm is compliance with telephone etiquette by every employee of the organization who:

answers incoming calls;

makes telephone calls on behalf of the company;

to which the client's call can be forwarded.

1. Watch the intonation of your voice

When communicating, people convey information to each other using three channels: “body language” (55%), intonation (38%) and words (7%). On the phone, we also convey to the interlocutor the meaning of our message using several channels, only in in this case the law of information transfer looks different. Firstly, “sign language” seems to disappear, since the interlocutor does not see us, and the remaining two channels (intonation and words) of information transmission divide 100% of the meaning of our message as follows:

Intonation - 86%;
Words - 14%.

Your voice conveys information to your interlocutor about what kind of person you are. With your voice you not only influence perception, but often also create the mood of your interlocutor. When communicating on the phone, smile, be full of energy and enthusiasm. A smile and a positive attitude are heard in the intonation.

Don't slump in your chair or put your feet on the table while talking on the phone. When a person lies or half-sits, the angle of the diaphragm changes and the timbre of his voice changes. Therefore, the interlocutor, even without seeing you, will “hear” that you are lying down. And this is unacceptable, because the voice of a person in this position seems disinterested and complete indifference.

2. Greet the caller

If you pick up the phone while answering an outside call, then immediately say hello to the person who called. The greeting of course varies depending on the time of day, it could be " Good morning(good afternoon or good evening).”

By greeting the caller, you show that his call is important to you and you are glad to see him (if this is not the case, then he should not know about it).

Don’t be like the “telephone dinosaurs” who, when they pick up the phone, say:

3. Introduce yourself over the phone

After greeting the caller, introduce yourself and name your organization. When receiving external calls, two approaches are used, the so-called “minimum” and “maximum”:

Minimum approach: Greeting + name of the organization. This is what it sounds like: “Good afternoon, publishing house “Fortochka!”

“Maximum” approach: “minimum” + the name of the person who answered the phone. This is what it sounds like: “Good afternoon, Fortochka publishing house, Marina is listening!”

Which approach to choose and use is up to you to decide. Following any of these will show callers that you and your organization are professionals.

I remember I once called one company, and they answered: “Hello.” I ask: “Tell me, is this company ABC?”, and the answer is: “Who are you?” I say: “Maybe I’m your potential client,” to which they assured me: “Our clients know us!”... and hung up.

4. Answer incoming calls after the 2nd, maximum after the 3rd ring

This is one of the laws that telephone operators, company secretaries, hotline workers and other “telephone” personnel are literally “trained” to implement. And here's why.

If we pick up the phone after the first call, then the person who called gets the impression that we have nothing to do, and we were bored waiting for someone to finally call us.

Don't pick up the phone after the first ring; the few seconds you have left will allow you to take your mind off what you were doing and focus on the phone call.

If you allow the phone to ring 4, 5 or more times, then, firstly, the caller will begin to get nervous (it has been proven that people very quickly lose patience while waiting for an answer on the phone), and secondly, he will form a very “definite” opinion about our interest in him and in clients in general. Subsequently, he will no longer believe in our ability to quickly respond to his needs and problems.

5. When you call, do not say “are you concerned about...” or “are you concerned about...”

This is something like a national disease. I suspect that this comes from an excessive desire to appear polite and from a lack of self-confidence. By telling a person that you are disturbing (bothering) him, you are forming in him a certain - undesirable - attitude towards himself and his call.

You are forcing him to be wary, and you yourself are asking him to treat your call as an unwanted distraction from business. Why create trouble for yourself and tell your interlocutor, “I disturbed you, disturbed your comfort and now I will pester you with my questions”?

Just say: “Good morning (Hello), Marina (Marina Shestakova) from the publishing house “Fortochka” is calling you.

6. When you call, ask if the client can speak with you.

Each person has his own to-do list, scheduled appointments, meetings, etc. In other words, when we called him, the likelihood that we pulled him away from his work is very high. This is especially true for calls to mobile phone; our interlocutor can be anywhere and be busy with anything.

After introducing yourself, do not get straight to the point, first ask if the interlocutor can talk to you. By asking this question, we show the interlocutor that we are well-mannered and that we value his time. Thus, we position ourselves as a professional in his eyes and inspire respect for ourselves.

Introduce yourself + ask about the opportunity to spend time + state the purpose of the call.

Introduce yourself + state the purpose of the call + ask about the opportunity to spend time.

7. Get to the point of your call as quickly as possible.

After introducing yourself and asking for time to chat, don't waste time with pointless rhetoric and pointless questions like:

So, how do you like this heat in the city?

What do you think about our Prime Minister's statement today?

Did you see on the news yesterday...?

Have you heard latest news about Iraq?

When communicating on the phone, business people tend to be brief and stay on topic. Don't annoy them by talking about this and that, tell them the purpose of your call and start a business conversation.

It is worth adding that with the exception of of this rule is to communicate by phone with clients with whom, over the years of working together, you have developed warm, friendly or even friendly relations.

8. Using the “hold” function

Almost every phone has a “hold” function, but it is designated differently, depending on the manufacturer of the device.

This function allows, if necessary, to “suspend” the interlocutor on the line without disconnecting the connection. It is used every time during a conversation you need to put down the phone and isolate the interlocutor from what is happening in your room (from conversations, discussions, jokes, anecdotes of your colleagues). For example, in order to:

go to the next office for the information necessary for the interlocutor;

print the required document;

call to the phone the right person;

check something with a colleague.

By pressing the corresponding button on your phone and activating “hold”, you do not give the other person the opportunity to hear what is happening in your room. If the telephone set is connected to a telephone exchange, then during the “hold” it plays the programmed melody to your interlocutor.

There are several rules related to placing and removing an interlocutor from “hold”:

When setting up, ask if the interlocutor can wait, and explain the reason for the need to wait.

For example: “Can you wait because I need to contact accounting to answer your question?”

When withdrawing, thank the interlocutor for waiting. This step helps to dissipate the tension and nervousness that arises in anyone who is expecting. We also show the person that he is important to us and we are grateful to him for not hanging up.

If you know you'll have to wait more than one minute, don't put it on hold. Tell him that you will call him back after clarifying the information he is interested in. When waiting on the phone, even one minute seems like several, don’t give your interlocutor an extra reason to be nervous and angry.

9. If you ask a person who is absent

Do not “cut off” the caller by simply stating the fact that the person he needs is at the exhibition (on vacation, will return at the end of the week) and do not immediately hang up.

After reporting the absence of the right person, make two attempts to keep the caller. Offer your help. For example: “Is there anything I can help you with?” or, “Can someone else help you?”

If the person who called does not agree to the help offered, then ask to leave a message.

It sounds like this:

What should I tell (the absent colleague)? Who called?

Let me leave (an absent colleague) a message saying you called. Please introduce yourself.

10. When ending a conversation, say goodbye to your interlocutor

Notice how many people, when finishing a conversation, simply hang up without even saying goodbye.

How many times has this happened to me: you call an organization and ask the person who answers the phone a question, for example: “Tell me, are you working on Saturday?” The answer is “Yes” or “No”, and the conversation ends. One day I finally called back and asked: “Why are you hanging up, I still have a question for you?” The answer was simply brilliant: “We need to speak faster!”

In a situation similar to the one described above, before saying goodbye to the caller, ask: “Can I answer any more questions?”, and only after receiving a negative answer, end the conversation. Before hanging up, say goodbye to the person, tell him everything just a simple: “Goodbye.”

11. Adapt to the speed of your interlocutor’s speech

If a person speaks slowly, this indicates that his thinking process proceeds at the same speed. This means that he carefully evaluates every word he hears and pronounces and carefully weighs the information received before making a final decision. When communicating with such people, slow down the pace of your speech slightly. Don't fool yourself into thinking that the faster you speak, the faster your interlocutors will think. Quite the contrary, if they cannot keep up with the pace of your speech, they will lose the train of your thoughts and become completely confused.

A person who speaks quickly or very quickly grasps thoughts on the fly and makes decisions without much thought, perhaps even hastily. He is irritated by slowness and leisure, he is impatient and craves action. Speed up your speech when talking to these people.

Change the pace of your speech, just don’t cross the line beyond which a parody begins.

12. Do not chew, drink or smoke while talking on the phone.

If you think that by performing the actions listed above, you will hide them from your telephone interlocutor, then you are mistaken. Many times I've talked to people who thought they were camouflaging chewing or smoking without even realizing how unpleasant it sounded over the phone.

One day I called a client, from whose answer it became clear to me that he was chewing. I tell him: “Bon appetit,” and he answers me: “Did you hear that?”

Put your chewing gum (cutlet, cigarette) aside.

13. Don’t apologize to your interlocutor for taking up his time.

This recommendation also applies to meetings. If you think that you have distracted your interlocutor from important matters or that you have taken away his valuable time, then do not tell him about it out loud. Having said “sorry, our meeting (conversation) has been delayed, I probably took your time,” you yourself will lead him to think that:

he lost his time communicating with you;

your time is worthless;

you are not confident in yourself;

you feel guilty.

Instead of apologizing, you can thank the other person:

Thank you for finding the opportunity to meet (talk) with me.

I understand how busy you are, thank you for the time allocated for our meeting.

You show that you value him and his time, but you don't make yourself look like a "guilty supplicant."

14. Using a speakerphone (speakerphone)

Do not use speakerphone unless absolutely necessary and without warning and consent of the interlocutor. With today's technology, the client will hear the difference between communicating with you through a handset and using a “speakerphone.” Hearing that you are talking to him using a speakerphone, the client will almost immediately feel discomfort and become wary. In addition, he will draw two conclusions:

Someone is listening to us.

15. Communication with secretaries

If your job involves making calls to organizations, this means that you periodically communicate with the secretaries of these organizations. Today, secretarial positions are occupied by educated and qualified people who are the “face of the company” and optimize the work of their superiors. Their opinions are listened to and they are valued quite highly as “frontline workers.”

Don't insult, humiliate or underestimate them. These people often have a lot of power. They can become either your supporters or enemies, it all depends on you. Show them respect and deference, and they will return the favor.

Treat them the same way you treat your clients. Secretaries are also your clients, they influence the opinion of their management about you, your company and your product. If desired, they can present your call (fax, letter) as “another prank of an annoying idiot from a stupid company.” They can make sure your letters, faxes and e-mail“will not reach” the recipient. Considering this...

Build relationships with them. It doesn’t matter whether you do this with bouquets, chocolates or through your respectful attitude. Remember one thing: by winning the secretary's favor, you gain a supporter in the client's organization. In addition, no one knows which direction and in which company this person will become a manager tomorrow.

Business information

Promotion of goods and services

Personnel management

Which is correct...?

Business etiquette

Business etiquette
Positions of the interlocutors at the negotiating table

Business communications

Municipalities

Telephone etiquette: rules and regulations

The norm is compliance with telephone etiquette by every employee of the organization who:

answers incoming calls;

makes telephone calls on behalf of the company;

to which the client's call can be forwarded.

1. Watch the intonation of your voice

When communicating, people convey information to each other using three channels: “body language” (55%), intonation (38%) and words (7%). On the phone, we also convey to the interlocutor the meaning of our message using several channels, only in this In this case, the law of information transfer looks different. Firstly, “sign language” seems to disappear, since the interlocutor does not see us, and the remaining two channels (intonation and words) of information transmission divide 100% of the meaning of our message as follows:

Intonation - 86%;
Words - 14%.

2. Greet the caller

If you pick up the phone while answering an outside call, then immediately say hello to the person who called. The greeting, of course, changes depending on the time of day, it could be “Good morning (good afternoon or good evening).”

By greeting the caller, you show that his call is important to you and you are glad to see him (if this is not the case, then he should not know about it).

Don’t be like the “telephone dinosaurs” who, when they pick up the phone, say:

3. Introduce yourself over the phone

After greeting the caller, introduce yourself and name your organization. When receiving external calls, two approaches are used, the so-called “minimum” and “maximum”:

Minimum approach: Greeting + name of the organization. This is what it sounds like: “Good afternoon, publishing house “Fortochka!”

“Maximum” approach: “minimum” + the name of the person who answered the phone. This is what it sounds like: “Good afternoon, Fortochka publishing house, Marina is listening!”

Which approach to choose and use is up to you to decide. Following any of these will show callers that you and your organization are professionals.

4. Answer incoming calls after the 2nd, maximum after the 3rd ring

This is one of the laws that telephone operators, company secretaries, hotline workers and other “telephone” personnel are literally “trained” to implement. And here's why.

If we pick up the phone after the first call, then the person who called gets the impression that we have nothing to do, and we were bored waiting for someone to finally call us.

Don't pick up the phone after the first ring; the few seconds you have left will allow you to take your mind off what you were doing and focus on the phone call.

5. When you call, do not say “are you concerned about...” or “are you concerned about...”

Just say: “Good morning (Hello), Marina (Marina Shestakova) from the publishing house “Fortochka” is calling you.

6. When you call, ask if the client can speak with you.

Each person has his own to-do list, scheduled appointments, meetings, etc. In other words, when we called him, the likelihood that we pulled him away from his work is very high. This is especially true for calls to a mobile phone; our interlocutor can be anywhere and be busy with anything.

Introduce yourself + ask about the opportunity to spend time + state the purpose of the call.

Introduce yourself + state the purpose of the call + ask about the opportunity to spend time.

7. Get to the point of your call as quickly as possible.

After introducing yourself and asking for time to chat, don't waste time with pointless rhetoric and pointless questions like:

So, how do you like this heat in the city?

What do you think about our Prime Minister's statement today?

Did you see on the news yesterday...?

Have you heard the latest news about Iraq?

It is worth adding that the exception to this rule is communicating by phone with clients with whom over the years of working together you have developed warm friendly or even friendly relations.

8. Using the “hold” function

Almost every phone has a “hold” function, but it is designated differently, depending on the manufacturer of the device.

go to the next office for the information necessary for the interlocutor;

print the required document;

call the right person on the phone;

check something with a colleague.

There are several rules related to placing and removing an interlocutor from “hold”:

When setting up, ask if the interlocutor can wait, and explain the reason for the need to wait.

For example: “Can you wait because I need to contact accounting to answer your question?”

9. If you ask a person who is absent

Do not “cut off” the caller by simply stating the fact that the person he needs is at the exhibition (on vacation, will return at the end of the week) and do not immediately hang up.

After reporting the absence of the right person, make two attempts to keep the caller. Offer your help. For example: “Is there anything I can help you with?” or, “Can someone else help you?”

If the person who called does not agree to the help offered, then ask to leave a message.

It sounds like this:

What should I tell (the absent colleague)? Who called?

Let me leave (an absent colleague) a message saying you called. Please introduce yourself.

10. When ending a conversation, say goodbye to your interlocutor

Notice how many people, when finishing a conversation, simply hang up without even saying goodbye.

11. Adapt to the speed of your interlocutor’s speech

Change the pace of your speech, just don’t cross the line beyond which a parody begins.

12. Do not chew, drink or smoke while talking on the phone.

One day I called a client, from whose answer it became clear to me that he was chewing. I tell him: “Bon appetit,” and he answers me: “Did you hear that?”

Put your chewing gum (cutlet, cigarette) aside.

13. Don’t apologize to your interlocutor for taking up his time.

he lost his time communicating with you;

your time is worthless;

you are not confident in yourself;

you feel guilty.

Instead of apologizing, you can thank the other person:

Thank you for finding the opportunity to meet (talk) with me.

I understand how busy you are, thank you for the time allocated for our meeting.

You show that you value him and his time, but you don't make yourself look like a "guilty supplicant."

14. Using a speakerphone (speakerphone)

Someone is listening to us.

15. Communication with secretaries

Treat them the same way you treat your clients. Secretaries are also your clients, they influence the opinion of their management about you, your company and your product. If desired, they can present your call (fax, letter) as “another prank of an annoying idiot from a stupid company.” They can make sure that your letters, faxes and emails "do not reach" the recipient. Considering this...

Most first business contacts are made through phone calls. And in future activities, the phone allows you to quickly resolve all sorts of issues. Using a telephone saves time, generates right decisions and, often, to the formation of the company's image. A correct response to a client’s call can lead to the conclusion of a deal, while an incorrect response can sever the relationship or delay the implementation of the project for a long time.

That's right, which is surprising at first glance, but not easy. And the level of sales, indicators of consumer demand, customer interest and brand awareness directly depend on this skill. The ability to correctly answer incoming telephone calls is one of the most important tools that the management and office staff of any modern enterprise must be fluent in.

Answer rules

In this material we will outline ten basic rules for correctly answering incoming calls. If you want to improve your team's performance and increase your phone sales, be sure to learn and implement each technique described in your office—you won't be disappointed.

Rule number one

Once you pick up the phone, it's up to you to solve the calling customer's problems. You are actually a “one-stop shop” for a client who decides to contact your company. You are responsible not only for yourself personally, but also for the entire enterprise, for all its services and structural divisions.

If the processing of an incoming call by the company representative who answered the phone is incorrect, all the efforts of marketers and serious expenses on and promotion of the company may be in vain. Therefore, from the moment you pick up the phone until the end of the telephone conversation, any unprofessional word spoken can cause innumerable problems.

You need to receive a call in such a way that the calling client feels your disposition, your desire to help and solve the caller’s problems. The professionalism of the respondent is the key to successful continuation of business contact.

Rule number two

The person answering the customer's call must be competent in most of the issues that may interest the customer. What promotions are held in the company, which ones are unique. He must also clearly understand to whom the call can be quickly forwarded in case of specific questions posed by the client. For example, if you ask a complex technical question– the secretary will not be able to give a comprehensive answer, so he must quickly and politely transfer the caller to the engineering or technological service.

Rule number three

The responder must always strictly adhere to business etiquette. The call must be answered before the third signal. You should greet the caller and introduce yourself. You need to state the name of the company, your name and position. This allows for a closer degree of contact to be established. The secretary must definitely ask how the caller should be addressed, clarify the issue for which he contacted the company, and offer him his assistance. Thus, after establishing a trusting contact, you will find out exactly the purpose of his call and will be able to provide him with qualified assistance.

Rule number four

Monitor reactions to questions asked by the client and complaints made. Always have standard answers ready to common questions. Do not allow negativity or dissatisfaction on your part. Treat the questions that the client will ask positively, because they indicate his interest. It is important to always thank the client for asking questions and for contacting your company.

If a question is not fully understood, it is important to ask for clarification or repetition. Try to speak measuredly, do not speak frequently. Speak accessible language, so that the client does not have to strain trying to understand what you told him.

Rule number five

When talking on the phone, be sure to use a variety of techniques and techniques. He doesn't give visuals, that is, neither interlocutor is able to see each other’s reaction to the words spoken. To maintain a trusting atmosphere in a dialogue, you should always let your interlocutor know that you heard what he said.

To maintain a trusting atmosphere in a dialogue, you should always let your interlocutor know that you heard what he said.

You should periodically repeat the main thoughts and words heard in the dialogue. Tell your interlocutor that you have recorded the information he expressed. From time to time it is worth changing the timbre, tempo of speech, and using different intonations in conversation. Don't be monotonous, otherwise you risk losing the attention of the client calling you. Be sure to watch what you say. You should speak clearly, clearly and unambiguously.

You can use popular techniques to telephone conversations. For example, “echo” is a verbatim repetition of the wishes expressed by the client. Before such a repetition, you should use introductory structures, like “as I understand you...” or “as far as I understand, you...”. Or a “resume” – a summary repetition of the essence of the client’s wishes. It is also possible to use the “logical consequence” technique. Start with “so, you...” and continue with a logical conclusion from what the client said.

The “clarification” technique is a request to clarify the client’s words by explaining a number of individual points. The last reception should begin with the words “could you please explain again...”.

Rule number six

You should always strictly control the emotional coloring and intensity of the conversation. Do not allow “overheating” under any circumstances. In case of conflict situation– your task is to make every possible effort to promptly resolve the client’s questions and complaints. Make sure the customer is satisfied. In this case, he will always remember that you helped him get rid of his problems, and will be happy to contact you in the future.

On the other hand, communication should not be empty. In order to avoid similar situation, you should always move along the chain: making an initial contact - determining the purpose of the call - resolving the client’s question - politely ending the conversation.

Rule number seven

Try to indicate in the conversation that the interlocutor is important to you. The fact is that if the interlocutor is interesting to you and feels it, there is a high probability of mutual interest on the part of the calling client. You should show support, sympathy, and approval towards the caller.

After establishing initial contact, address him by name and express to him your readiness to help. The interlocutor, based on your words, will understand that they are ready to help him, that you are sincerely happy about his call, that he was heard and understood. Most importantly, he realizes his importance and importance. Try not to interrupt. Listen carefully. When moving the conversation to another topic, choose the right moment. Let the client express his thoughts first, then constructively invite him to consider another subject for conversation or look at the situation from an alternative point of view.

Rule number eight

Under no circumstances should the client be kept waiting for a long time. This causes irritation and has a very negative impact on the image of the organization. Time is money. By saving the client's time, you actually save money for him. He will remember this. There is no more grateful client than one who was not only helped and listened to, but did so as quickly as possible.

Do not forward the call unless necessary. Only if you are unable to resolve the client’s issue yourself. Never make a customer wait more than half a minute. If you still had to put the client “on hold” to clarify any information regarding his request, do not forget to thank him for waiting. Necessarily. The client will hear this and appreciate your concern for him.

Rule number nine

Appreciate customer calls. Don't forget that everyone incoming call is the result of the work and efforts of many, many departments of your company.

Rule number ten

The dialogue should be completed correctly. 75% of a conversation, at least that which is remembered by the client, is the beginning and end of the conversation. The beginning and end of a conversation are two moments that are remembered against the background emotional coloring. Moreover, it is the end of the conversation that is remembered as the final result of the conversation. It is necessary to take all contact information and briefly summarize the agreements reached with the client. And, of course, don’t forget to thank the client for making the call.

The beginning and end of a conversation are two moments that are remembered against the backdrop of emotional overtones.

As a result

As can be seen from all of the above, there is nothing complicated about answering phone calls correctly, and the answering technique is nothing supernatural. You just need to be attentive, friendly and follow etiquette. Grateful customers will no doubt reciprocate in the form of increased sales and awareness of your brand. However, statistics show us that very, very many, even being employees of large transnational corporations, do not know how to correctly use such a simple tool as telephone conversations.

Be sure to conduct 1-2 training sessions for employees who most often have to deal with incoming phone calls. Familiarize them with the rules given in our article and you will see how the efficiency of your business will increase. Good luck with your conversations!

Pick up the phone no later than the fourth ring. This is one of the rules good manners. Signalmen do not recommend picking up the handset during a call for purely technical reasons: the current in electrical circuits increases, which can damage the network and turn off the phone.

Sometimes there is poor audibility in the handset. But this doesn't mean you have to raise your voice. The opinion that if I can’t hear my interlocutor well, then he can’t hear me well and, therefore, I need to speak louder, in the case of a telephone, is erroneous. If your hearing is poor, you should not raise your voice yourself, but ask your interlocutor to speak louder and ask how he hears you.

When you pick up the phone, identify your agency, department, and your position.

When answering a call, you should always introduce yourself. People want to know who they are talking to. This, in addition, creates an atmosphere of trust and helps to better understand the interlocutor. Find a friendly formula that you like (how you would like to be answered).

When making frequent calls or in a hurry, they usually call the last name with the addition of the word “listening” (“Ivanova is listening))) or only the name of the institution or department is indicated: “Reception of the department of such and such...”.

In all of the above cases, the subscriber must know who he is talking to or at least where he is. If an error occurs when dialing a number, the misunderstanding will be immediately clarified and will not result in loss of time to clarify it.

¦ If you need to interrupt a conversation to answer another call, ask your interlocutor for permission to do so.

When arranging your next telephone conversation, you should clarify what time is convenient for the interlocutor.

If you're asked a question that you don't know the answer to, the best answer is something like this: " Good question. May I clarify for you and call you back?"

Don't give yours a way out negative emotions. It is not your interlocutor’s fault that perhaps a couple of minutes before you had an unpleasant conversation with someone or you have personal problems.

Shouldn't

Do not pick up the phone for a long time.

Start a conversation with "Hello", "Yes" and "Speaking"

Asking: "Can I help you?"

Have two conversations at the same time

Leave the phone unattended, at least for a short time and occupy it for a long time, sounding voice of the telephone interlocutor

Use scraps of paper and calendar sheets for notes.

Say: “Everyone is having lunch,” “No one is here,” “Call me back.”

Pick up the phone before the fourth ring.

Introduce yourself and name your department and your position

Ask: "How can I help you?"

Concentrate on one conversation; listen carefully

Offer to call back if time is needed to clarify details

Use phone call forms or a business notepad

8. Write down the information and inform the subscriber that they will call him back.

Telephone calls often disrupt the rhythm of work, break up a manager's working day, and prevent him from concentrating, shifting his attention to newly emerging unforeseen problems. Therefore, one of the tasks of the manager's secretary is filtering (sorting) telephone calls. The secretary must know well who and on what issues should be contacted with the manager. Knowing organizational structure company (institution) and the distribution of responsibilities between employees (who does what), the secretary, having found out the topic of the conversation, can often himself correctly redirect the subscriber. It is useful for the secretary to have a criterion, based on the opinion of the manager, according to which incoming calls should be rejected, rescheduled (re-call) or should be passed to the manager.

Today, telephones with answering machines are widely used to record and transmit messages. They are usually turned on during hours when there is no one to answer calls because no one is in the office. For example, at lunchtime, in the evening or at night, on non-working days.

The secretary, freed or arriving at workplace, must listen to the recording and convey the messages to their destination, and, if necessary, contact the callers.

Hello?
Hello?

Thank you for calling the Smiths Auto Shop. Mary speaking. How can I help you?
Thanks for calling Smith's Auto Shop. Mary is listening. How can I help you?

Doctor's office.
Doctor's office.
How to introduce yourself over the phone

Hey Michael. It "s Lisa calling. (Conversational form.)
Hi Michael. This is Lisa.

Hello, this is Jane Peters calling.
Hello, this is Jane Peters.

Hi, it's George from the dentist's office here.
Hello, this is George calling from dentistry.
How to ask someone to answer the phone

Is Fred in? (Spoken form.)
Is Fred there?

Is Jackson there, please? (Spoken form.)
Can I talk to Jackson?

Can I talk to your sister? (Spoken form.)
Can you call your sister?

May I speak with Mr. Green, please?
Can I please speak to Mr. Green?
How to ask a caller to wait and call the right person

Just a sec. I "ll get him. (Colloquial form.)
One second. I'll call him.

Hang on one second. (Spoken form.)
Wait a second.

Please hold and I"ll put you through to his office.
Please wait while I connect you to his office.

One moment please.
One minute please.

All of our operators are busy at this time. Please hold for the next available person.
All our operators are busy at the moment. Please wait until someone is free.
How to ask someone for something over the phone

Could you please repeat that?
Could you repeat that?

Would you mind spelling that for me?
Please spell it.

Could you speak up a little please?
Could you speak up please?

Can you speak a little slower please? My English isn't very strong.
Please speak more slowly. I don't speak English very well.

Can you call me back? I think we have a bad connection.
Can you call me back? I think we have communication problems.

Can you please hold for a minute? I have another call.
Can you wait a minute? I have one more call.
How to receive a message from someone

Johnny's not in. Who's this? (Spoken form.)
Johnny is gone now. Who is this?

I"m sorry, Lisa"s not in at the moment. Can I ask who's calling?
Sorry, but Lisa is not here right now. Can I find out who is calling?

I"m afraid he"s stepped out. Would you like to leave a message?
Unfortunately, he left. Should I give him anything?

He"s on lunch right now. Who"s calling please?
He's at lunch now. Tell me please, who is this calling?

He's busy right now. Can you call again later?
He's busy at the moment. Can you call me later?

I"ll let him know you called.
I'll let him know you called.

I"ll make sure she gets the message.
I'll be sure to give her a message.
How to leave a message for someone

Yes, can you tell him his wife called, please?
Yes, can you please tell him that his wife called?

No, that's okay. I'll call back later.
No, it's okay. I'll call you back later.

Thanks; could you ask him to call James when he gets in?
Thanks, can you ask him to call James when he arrives?

Do you have a pen handy? I don't think he has my number.
Do you have a pen handy? I don't think he knows my number.

Thanks. My number is 555-6789, extension 14.
Thank you. My number is 555-6789, extension 14.
How to confirm or question something

Okay, I"ve got it all down.
Okay, I wrote everything down.

Let me repeat that just to make sure.
Let me repeat everything to check if everything is correct.

Did you say 123 Charles St.?
Did you say 123 Charles Street?

You said your name was Ted, right?
You said your name is Ted, right?

I"ll make sure he gets the message.
I will definitely tell him what you said.
Examples of answering machine entries

Hello. You"ve reached 222-6789. Please leave a detailed message after the beep. Thank you.
Hello. You called 222-6789. Please leave detailed message after sound signal. Thank you.

Hi, this is Elizabeth. I"m sorry I"m not available to take your call at this time. Leave me a message and I"ll get back to you as soon as I can.
Hello, this is Elizabeth. Sorry, but I can't answer your call right now. Leave your message and I will contact you as soon as possible.
Examples of messages left on answering machines

Hey Andrew. It "s Paul. Call me! (Colloquial form.)
Hi Andrew. This is Paul. Call me!

Hello, this is Richard calling for Stephen. Could you please return my call as soon as possible? My number is 123-4567. Thank you.
Hello, this is Richard. I need to talk to Stephen. Can you call me back as soon as possible? My number is 123-4567. Thank you.
How to end a phone conversation

Well, I guess I better get going. Talk to you soon. (Spoken form.)
Well, I guess I'll go. See you soon.

Thanks for calling. Bye for now.
Thank you for calling. Goodbye.

I have to let you go now.
I need to go.

I"m afraid that"s my other line.
Unfortunately, they are calling me on a different line.

I"ll talk to you again soon. Bye.
We'll talk again soon. Bye.