Telephone Etiquette Is Just As Important As When Speaking With Someone In Person
Talking on the telephone is no different than speaking with someone in
person, but for some reason a piece of electronic equipment between the
mouth and the ear brings in a very major element called - phone etiquette.
We've
all heard about them from the time we were very young - manners,
manners, manners. Mothers all over the globe do what they can to
instill some kind of proper etiquette in their children and many succeed. However when many people use the telephone, etiquette seems to disappear. Not only that, but it isn't uncommon for someone to experience poor business telephone etiquette. When a person contacts a business and they don't use proper telephone etiquette, the business will most likely loose customers.
One of the most common situations where we immediately forget any kind of telephone etiquette
is when a salesperson calls on the phone. Our initial reaction is that
the telephone call is unsolicited and unwanted. Why should we be polite
to a businessperson that is interrupting our personal time with an
uninvited phone call? Well we wouldn't verbally assault the perfume
sample dispenser in a department store, but they are doing the same
thing the person on the phone is doing- selling a product. The person
on the phone is just as human and deserves to be treated with courtesy.
Not to mention it is far easier to simply say "No, thank you" and
"Good-bye" than getting worked up and feeling guilty later on.
Since many of us seem to have forgotten telephone etiquettes, here are a few telephone etiquette
tips as an update to skills that are quite natural in many of us.
Always answer the phone by saying, "Hello" and not any other greeting.
If the person who has been requested is not available, simply state
that he or she "is not available at this time. May I take a message?"
Not only does the person on the other end of the phone have a good
impression about you, that feeling will apply to the person they are
calling for as well.
Always
be quick and to the point while remaining pleasant during a phone call.
Friends and family will continue with a telephone conversation if they
have time, otherwise they are not likely to rush you off of the phone
no matter how busy they are. No one is perfect, so if you dial a wrong
phone number state your mistake, apologize and hang up the phone.
Businesses are beginning to realize that without providing telephone etiquette
training, many employees are offending or even angering customers on
the phone. New hires are often presented with a guide for telephone etiquette and some may even have to go to professional telephone etiquette training. Proper phone etiquette
is important at both a personal and professional level. Being polite on
the telephone is just as important as when speaking with someone in
person. You might be surprised at how good you feel about yourself if
you use proper telephone etiquette and the positive responses received while talking on the phone.
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