Telephone etiquettes

Telephone etiquette means being respectful to the person you are talking with, showing consideration for the other person's limitations, allowing that person time to speak, communicating clearly and much, much more. Your voice must create a pleasant visual impression over the telephone. Good phone etiquette is important because we cannot see the facial expressions and body language of the other person and they cannot see us.

We must compensate by choosing our words carefully and using much more tone inflection to convey our message than if we were face to face. We regularly have to deal with impersonal recorded messages on voice mail that direct us to select a number from a menu or to leave a recorded message. This is becoming standard business practice and a challenge to good phone manners when we are finally able to talk to a person. We also encounter an ever increasing number of answering machines. These are a useful adjunct to the telephone and used judiciously will enable us to augment our telephone manners.

We get desperate to talk to a real live person and when we do find a human being we are dismayed to find the person lacks the basics of good telephone manners.

Rudeness and a lack of consideration have surreptitiously crept into our telephone practices and in many cases we are unaware of this. The principles apply equally to cell phone (mobile phone) communication. Mobile phones are just that. They are mobile, and place you in environments where your phone and your conversation are not welcome and may even be considered offensive. Lastly, a very convenient and useful feature of many phones is the speakerphone button. This makes communication so much easier, but it too requires the exercise of good manners and judgment.

TIPS ON TELEPHONE ETIQUETTES

These Tips on Telephone Etiquette have been contributed to help bring us back on track with how it used to be. Rudeness and lack of consideration have crept into our telephone practices. Here are some tried and tested tips on telephone etiquette to help us become aware of the courtesies that could easily be overlooked:-

Check the number carefully & then dial it correctly.
Allow it to ring long enough to give the called person time to get to the phone.
Don't ask them to wait the moment that they answer.
Identify yourself immediately. Don't make them guess who is calling.
Ask them if it's convenient to talk now. Are you interrupting anything?
Talk loud enough directly into the phone to be heard - without shouting.
If you have dialed a wrong number, apologize. Don't just hang up.
You are talking to a person now, not a machine. So speak accordingly.
Observe courtesies like "Hello, Please, Thank you and Good bye."

Making a Call:-

Be an attentive listener; don't do other jobs at the same time.
Don't interrupt while the other person is speaking.
Use common courtesy.
Use the person's name.
If they have to be put on hold, ask if you can call them back rather than keep them waiting indefinitely on the line.
If they would like to wait on the line get back to them every 30 seconds to update them and give them another opportunity to be called back.
Seriously bad news should be delivered face-to-face if possible and not over the telephone.

Receiving a call:-

Answer your phone promptly to save them having to ring again.
Greet the caller pleasantly. Don't be too busy to be nice.
If you have company, let the caller know that you must be brief or that you will call back later.
Take messages for others clearly and politely.
Be sure to pass on the message.
Always return telephone calls and do so as soon as possible.
If it is necessary to transfer the call, first TELL the caller that you are transferring the call and THEN do it.
Let the caller be the one to end the call first.
Remember to farewell the caller with, "Good bye" or something similar.
Hang up the phone gently.

ANSWERING MACHINE OR VOICE MAIL

Answering Machine and Voice Mail Etiquette simply requires the application of some common sense when using these devices. A little forethought will avoid misunderstandings and frustration.

Your Outgoing Message:-

Keep your outgoing message on your device short yet polite.
There should be no background music or other noise recorded.

Look at it from the caller's perspective:-

What would they need to know if you are not available to talk to them?
When would you be back?
Who else could help them?
Check for messages immediately on your return.
Return the call the same day; immediately if possible.

Leaving Voice Mail Replies:-

Don't ask to be called back if you are merely conveying a simple message that does not require discussion.
Leave your FULL name and a short message clearly.
If you need to leave your number, do so slowly and clearly. Repeat it once.

KIDS TELEPHONE ETIQUETTES

Kids Telephone Etiquette is intended to make you aware that kids need to learn to answer the phone and to speak on it properly with good telephone etiquette right from the start.

Keep toddlers away from the phone, especially if you have a home based business. The little darlings are cute to you, but frustrating to the caller (unless it's you or Grandma calling); bad for business too.
When they are old enough and can speak clearly, encourage them to hear you answer and end calls a few times first. They will learn from your example; good or bad. To hear a kid on the phone with good telephone etiquette leaves a lasting impression.
Let them make and receive a few "pretend" calls over a period of time. They should answer "The Smith's residence, Tommy speaking". (If your name is Smith and his is Tommy).
For child safety reasons some parents would instruct kids to NEVER disclose their own name. An alternative answer could be "28077843, the Smith's residence". Or simply "28077843" or any variation of that theme.
Be right beside them the first few times that they are allowed to answer the phone until they consistently do it right.