While e-mail and other forms of electronic interaction have become more and more common in business communications, the telephone is still very important. Most of us use a telephone - desk and/or cell - at the office every workday and cannot imagine functioning without it.
It follows that telephone etiquette is still a required skill for office workers. The following seven tips contain the rules that every office employee should know.
1. Identify yourself. Unless you're working so closely with someone that he or she recognizes your voice, introduce yourself when the other person picks up the telephone. If you're calling a close co-worker or a longtime client, "Hello Jim, it's Dan" will suffice. If it's anyone else, some version of the full form is appropriate, as in "Hello Jim, this is Dan White at TechStar."
2. If you must identify your company when answering the telephone, do so clearly. Be sure to enunciate carefully! It's extremely frustrating, if one is calling a company for the first time (and perhaps unsure whether the number is correct), when the receptionist says the company's name so quickly that it's almost impossible to decipher the words.
3. State the purpose for your call. In a business context, it's best to keep small talk to a minimum and to get to the point. Also, if you expect that the topic will require more than 30 seconds of conversation, ask the other person if it's okay to proceed. Just because the person picked up the telephone doesn't mean that he or she has five or ten minutes free. They may be rushing to get to a meeting or to meet a deadline. If the person indicates that it's a bad time, quickly ask when you can call back and then sign off.
4. Use "hold" judiciously. If you must put someone on hold, ask their permission and provide a reason (for example, "I have to find your file"). Then make sure that you pick up the telephone again and resume the conversation as soon as you possibly can.
5. Focus on the other person, avoiding distractions. Multi-tasking should not include doing unrelated tasks on the computer - or on paper - while you're on the telephone with someone at the office! It's disheartening to hear mouse clicks in the background during a business conversation (unless it's related to the topic of the call). If you are busy and unable to continue the conversation, tell the other person and ask when you can call back.
6. Use the speakerphone only if necessary, and give appropriate warnings. The speakerphone is great for freeing up one's hands, but it significantly reduces the privacy of a conversation. Accordingly, it's necessary to ask for the other person's permission to conduct a call on speakerphone. Explain why you need to do so - for instance, that you're updating a spreadsheet based on the conversation's content - and make sure the other person agrees.
7. Be polite to assistants. While it can be frustrating to reach an administrative assistant rather than the person you wish to talk to, that doesn't excuse rudeness or expressions of impatience. Keep in mind that the assistant is simply doing what he or she has been instructed to do. Answer their questions - who you are, and sometimes the reason for your call - briefly and politely.
Good telephone etiquette will help you to maintain positive relationships with business colleagues - both those within your office and those from other organizations.
© Zawya BusinessPulse 2014
