Given below is a list of tips for easy conversation on telephone.

1. While receiving a call, please identify yourself first, to make other person straight through to whom he is talking.
2. While dialing, after you hear from the other party, identify yourself first in order to have smooth beginning.
3. Be brief on phone. Next man is waiting for you, or to the other person or a third party may be desperately needed the line itself.
4. When audibility for you is poor, don’t scream (the other person may be hearing you properly), gently inform him that you are not hearing him properly can he a bit louder.
5. Don’t talk loudly. You are disturbing the attention of people around you.
6. Be firm, clear and mean business on phone. At the same time be polite and courteous.
7. Please avoid native slang to start the conversation (normally this will be "this", "that" or native equivalent). This will be corrected with practice. One or two pleasantries before starting the actual business talk and one or two closing remarks will keep away the conversation from monotony.
8. Plan before you dial what you want to talk, if needed write on a note pad the points you have to cover (for this "notes" folder provided in MS Exchange is handy). Gather all related papers relating to conversation before hand.
9. Don’t hesitate to redial, if you missed some point. This will be better than repenting later.
10. Never give up if the line is engaged or some recorded message comes saying the line is busy. You will get once you decide to get.
11. If the line appears to be busy to a particular location, keep the other locations you want to dial before you, and alternating between these will save a lot of time.
12. Sometimes, if you are not getting the line, if you are desperate, try fax number. You may be lucky there.
13. Keep up appointments on phone on schedule. This will encourage general discipline.
14. While talking on phone be attentive. Attending other works simultaneously will result in losing concentration. Don’t ever shove the phone cradle between chin and shoulder and talk. Besides making you less attentive, the posture will be clumsy and give wrong signals to the onlooker. Like wise smoking while talking will make you less attentive.

 

 

 

 

 

15. If the other party is not there leave a message with all details to call back. This will save lot of your follow-up. If the matter is urgent, don’t depend on third party even though you informed them to ask to call back.
16. Some times you may have to get back to the same party on phone again. If the requirement is from your side, that is if it is urgent for you don’t just say ok when the other party says I will call back. Please obtain a commitment from him about the mode and time, if possible take away the initiative from him and fix up the schedule and be prepared to call yourself first.
17. If you are connected to a third party by the person whom you called, if he is the right person, immediately ask for his name and other details. This will help when you want to deal with him later.
18. If the call is for a colleague who is not around, take the initiative to inquire whether the other party wants him to call back. Some times, like this you may also has to be reached urgently by your caller.
19. While receiving a call in a meeting and it is confidential, excuse the person sitting before you. Don’t have any inhibition about this and continue the talk. Another way is to park the call and retrieve it from some other location. Third alternative is to tell the caller that you will call back.
20. While contacting a new party, please give all your details including extension number. Like wise I used to record the details of the other party on the back of my visiting cards and file it till I get a regular card from him.
21. Don’t show off what you have on phone. You are on line only either to get information from the other party or to share the information you already had with you (only) when the other person wants it.
22. Neatly file all visiting cards in a folder. Collect other details which are not included in the visiting cards like the company's other phone numbers, other ways of reaching them like mobile phone, pager etc.,
23. Keep important numbers handy wherever you are. This will help the party to be reached at any time.
24. Screening the incoming calls by secretaries is better, wherever feasible. Besides saving time by limiting the wild calls, which can be diverted to right person, it will be preventive to regular callers to mean business. Expected unwanted callers can be diverted or dealt suitably. It has its own limitations like limiting the access, missing important calls sometimes etc., All depends on alertness of secretary.
25. Be cautious with tongue. The tendency to use it loosely when the other person is not face to face should be curtailed. Words spoken can’t be taken back. Your talk is such that what ever you say you should be able to commit on paper later.
26. Never get angry on phone (for that matter in life). The person is scared enough to be confused further and do little if not retaliate. Besides it will be harmful for your own health in the form of BP, and Heart problems.
27. Never argue on phone (you know very well there is much difference between argument and discussion). With out much scope (with out back up papers, gestures) you will achieve nothing except hardening the feelings of others and waste of time. In these situations face to face talk is better.
28. Generously use the answering machine facility wherever available.
29. Every call is an invitation to explore the interaction of two parties, which is social interaction, to the maximization of human endeavor towards benevolence that is universal. Please enjoy it.

 

 

30. Please keep the telephone dialing and receiving procedures, especially call transfer, call forward, call parking and retrieving at other location, automatic call back when you get busy/ ringing tone, don’t disturb, presetting the often called numbers, 0 dial blocking, etc., applicable to your EPABX system handy in a shortened form till you are used to all of them.

All the above points been made as a result of wide reading, keen observation and also mainly through the business dealings of Voith. I thank the Voith management for this.

A single individual may not fulfill all the above points and all the time. Perfection can’t be achieved, only we move towards perfection.

Rc Reddy

Given below is a list of usage of our new telephone system given in a nutshell. Administration department already circulated detailed procedures. Hope this will help you to recall the functions easily until one is used to them.