Thursday, October 2, 2008

Phrases to Avoid in Telephoning


I was connected before in a Paging company and we were taught of proper call handling like what to say and not to say on Professional Telephoning, characteristics of a good speaking voice, etc.. I'm sharing here some phrases recommended to use.

Instead...

1. In the comfort room... "IN A CLOSED DOOR MEETING"
2. Being scolded by the Boss " IN A MEETING"
3. Out of the Building.... " OUT ON AN APPOINTMENT"
4. Asleep.... " IN A CLOSED DOOR MEETING"
5. Was fired..... " IS NO LONGER CONNECTED WITH THE COMPANY"
6. Wait for a while/hold on... " ONE MOMENT PLS."
7. Come Again...... " WOULD YOU MIND SAYING THAT AGAIN, SIR/MA'AM
or "PARDON ME SIR/MA'AM"
8. Who is this? ....... " MAY I ASK WHO IS CALLING PLEASE?"

TRIVIA :
DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO USE "HELLO" AS A GREETING OVER THE PHONE IN THE OFFICE?

" Hello" is only used at home. When answering the phone, always use your standard spiel. When placing a call, start with a greeting (eg. Good Morning/afternoon/evening) and state your name, the person you are calling and your purpose.

Eg. "Good morning. This is Mr. Lim, I wish to speak with Mr. Ranches regarding my orders."

3 comments:

kamz said...

thanks for the tips sis! i'll be sure to keep these in mind and share this with my Japanese students who are studying business English.

Kikamz
Just About Anything

MOMnificent said...

Thanks for your comment. let us all remember that on the telephone your voice is you so let's learn telephone etiquette properly. Thanks for dropping by. Have a great time always!

Mariecel said...

I never knew that the use of "hello" for business calls is not proper, although now that I think of it, I always used "good morning" etc.

Another bit of trivia: here in Germany, answering the phone with "hello" by itself isn't proper either, even at home. You answer with your surname, or you mention your name right away, as in "Hello, here is Smith".

The North American habit of not introducing yourself right away when calling someone is also frowned upon. Coming from Canada, I learnt all of this the hard way when I first moved to Germany.