MODULE 3:

COMMUNICATING BY TELEPHONE

A. Using Your Communication Skills

B. Making Productive Telephone Calls
C. Receiving Telephone Calls
D. Placing Long-Distance Calls

MODULE 3
COMMUNICATING BY TELEPHONE
Using Your Communication Skills
1. Speak clearly. Because we cannot rely on nonverbal expressions when speaking on
the telephone, our tone and words must be especially clear to communicate effectively.
The better you sound, the better you and your company are perceived. The voice you
project is determined by how well you can demonstrate the following elements:
• Volume. Speak as though you were talking to someone across the desk from you. If the
caller is having difficulty hearing you, you may have to adjust your speech volume to
accommodate the caller.
• Rate of speed. Speak distinctly at a rate that is neither too fast nor too slow. Avoid
speaking rapidly in greeting the caller.
• Inflection. Inflection means to vary the tone of your voice to bring out the meaning of
what you say and add emphasis to what is said.
• Quality. Let your voice show that you have a smile on your face, that you are courteous
and enthusiastic, and that you are ready and willing to help the caller.
• Pronunciation. Pronunciation means saying each word correctly, clearly, and distinctly
by moving your lips, tongue, and jaw freely.
2. Listen actively. Active listening requires you to understand the message from the
caller’s point of view. Hearing is easy; but active listening is hard work. To be an active
listener, you must focus on the following elements:
• Concentration. If you are not engaged in the listening process, the mind tends to
wander. To help you focus on what the caller is saying, ask open-ended
questions, ones that cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no.”
 • Empathy. Empathy means you must try to understand what the caller wants to
communicate rather than what you want to understand. It also means that you
put yourself in the caller’s shoes.
• Acceptance. You must listen objectively without judging content until the caller
is finished. When you hear something you disagree with, you have a tendency to
begin formulating mental arguments to counter what is being said.
• Responsibility. Take the responsibility for completeness. Ask questions to
gather information to determine the intended meaning from the caller. Take notes
to help you with details of the conversation.
• Use correct grammar. When you use incorrect grammar, your image, and that of your
organization, is at stake. Your use of poor grammar reflects negatively on your
professionalism.

A. Making Productive Telephone Calls

 Be prepared. Before you place a call, assemble the materials you may need to refer to
during the conversation
Use telephone directory. Organizations provide their employees with a staff directory for call
other employees within the organization.
Public directories are usually organized into three sections:
 Introductory pages

 Alphabetical pages (white pages)

 Yellow pages

The introductory pages provide basic information concerning the telephone services in
the area, including:
 Emergency services (fire, police, ambulance, and highway patrol)

 Service calls

 Dialing instructions for local and long-distance calls

 Area codes for some cities

 Rates

 International calling information

 Time zones
 Government listings

 The white pages are an alphabetical listing of telephone subscribers with their telephone
numbers and their addresses.
 
 The yellow pages directory, sometimes published separately, contains listings for
businesses arranged by the product or services they sell.
 Introduce yourself. Give the person ample time to answer. Let the telephone ring at
least five or six times. If the person is not the one with whom you wish to speak, ask for
the person and identify yourself... when you do not need to speak to a particular person,
make your request of the person who answers. Some people prefer to add a “good
morning” or “good afternoon” to their identification.
 Conclude calls efficiently. Be mindful of the receiver of your call by concluding calls
efficiently. Maintain professionalism by ending the call on a positive note. Here are a
few tips to use when concluding your calls.
 Use the receiver’s name

 Summarize comments, agreements, actions, and responsibilities

 Get agreement on the summary

 Thank the person for his or her time

 Leave messages. Leave a complete message that include the following:

 Your first and last name

 Company name

 Reason for call

 Telephone number

 Best time to return the call

 Receiving Telephone Calls

 1. Answer promptly. Answer the telephone no later than the third ring. Ensure that the
mouthpiece or microphone is close to our lips, no more than one inch away, and speak
directly into it in a normal, conversational tone, use just enough volume for your voice to
be pleasant to the listener.
2. Identify yourself. Let the caller know that the right office has been reached. Your manager
may tell you specifically how the telephone should be answered. It is courteous to let the caller
know who you are.
3. Take complete messages. There are seven essential elements in a complete telephone
message:
 the date and time of the call

 the complete name of the caller

 the telephone number.

 the business name of the caller

 all pertinent information to help the person for whom the call was intended to,
know what to expect when returning the call
 your initials

 always restate the message to ensure both yourself and the caller that you have
recorded it accurately and entirely
 4. Be careful when answering calls for others. Be careful how you explain your
manager’s and other coworkers” absence from the office.
5. Transfer calls properly. Transferring calls properly not only involves knowing how to use
the transfer feature on your telephone but also knowing who performs various functions within
your company. Tips to increase efficiency in transferring calls.
 Explain to the caller that you are going to transfer the call to someone who will handle
the call.
 Be sure you transfer the call to the right person. Knowing “who does what” can provide
you with the information as to the appropriate person to handle a transfer call.
 Before you transfer the call, invite the caller to call you back if you have not referred him
or her to the right person.
 If your department cannot handle the request and you do not know who should handle it,
tell the caller so.
 Limit transfers as much as possible.

 Answer a second line. If two telephones ring at the same time, answer one and ask the
caller if you may be excused to answer the other telephone.
 7. Distribute messages promptly. Delaying the delivery of telephone messages to the
appropriate people can cause costly and perhaps embarrassing situations for your
manager and coworkers.
  8. Screen calls. Some managers have such heavy demands on their time that their calls
must be screened, and many of those calls must be handled by someone else. Remember
that when screening calls, you want to determine what the caller wants.
Placing Long-Distance calls
Long-distance calls are any calls placed outside the local calling area
 Direct-distance dialing (DDD) – the caller dials the number directly, and no special
assistance is needed from an operator.
 Operator-assisted calls – the caller needs the assistance from an operator for a call, such
as collect calls.
 Calling card calls. The calling card is an extension of the long-distance authorization
code you received to place long-distance calls. Prepaid calling cards provide telephone
time you pay for before you make your calls.
 Directory assistance calls. Calls to directory assistance may be restricted for cost
control reasons. You should note that services requiring the intervention of a live
telephone operator are the most costly.
 Telephone conference calls. This is a call taking place when three or more telephone
stations are connected across a network that supports the conversation.
 International calling. The process may vary from country to country and from city to
city within a country. There are two ways to make international call. You may dial
directly or use an international operator.
Developing Effective Telephone Techniques
1. Be courteous. Leaders of companies expect their employees to be courteous so they not
irritate or even lose customers. Being courteous means you demonstrated good manners,
politeness, and diplomacy
2. 2. Be considerate when using speakerphones. The speakerphone feature on telephone
systems allows hands-free phone conversations, eliminating the risk of any discomfort or
injury associated with improper phone use.
3. 3. Handle angry callers. When handling angry callers, it is important to know and
remember that anger is a secondary emotion.
4. The following are tips on how to handle an angry caller:
5. Deal with the feelings first.
6. Show understanding
7. Provide feedback
8. Summarize the situation
9. Deal with the situation
10. Find out what the caller wants
11. If it is not possible to do what the person wants, suggest alternatives
12. Share information
13. Agree on a solution
14. Follow up
15. 4. Return telephone calls promptly. Establish a procedure for returning calls. Become
aware of your routine caller’s habits, so you can determine the test times in which to
return calls. To return calls promptly, you must check your messages frequently.
16. 5. Check your messages frequently. If you are away from your office on a regular
basis, develop a routine for checking your messages frequently.
17. 6. Avoid telephone tag. Although the use of email has increased, people will continue to
use the telephone and should do so, depending on the situation. However, people play
telephone tag, phoning back and forth trying to reach each other without success.

Telephone Message Systems

Commonly used systems are:

 Automatic recording machines. A user can turn on a recorded message at the end of
the business day. The message might tell callers when the office will be open and invite
them to leave their number or a message.
 Voice mail. This is a computer-based system that processes both incoming and outgoing
telephone calls. Special computer chips and software convert the human voice into a
digital recording that can be stored in the computer. The recording can then be retrieved
at any time for playback.

Handling International Calls

When you are having difficulty making international calls, be sure to consider the
following:
 Your own office phone system
 The correct format for dialing international numbers
 International holidays
 Time zone differences
Language barriers

VOCABULARU
 Acceptance. An element of active listening that entails listening objectively without
judging content until the caller is finished.
 Active listening. An effective communication skill that requires you to understand
the message from the caller’s point of view.
 Auto announcements. Similar to answering machines, but activated only when all
incoming lines re busy or after hours when the caller is prompted to leave a message
or to call back during business hours.
 Caller identification. (ID). A telephone service that displays the caller’s number on
your telephone.
 Calling card. Card equipped with a magnetic strop to accommodate place a call;
the charge is automatically billed to your personal or business account.
 Call forwarding. A telephone service that allows the telephone system to forward a
call to another number when you are busy or away from your desk.
 Call management services. A phone service such as displaying caller’s number on
your telephone and forwarding your call to another number when you are busy or
away from your desk.
 Conference call. Phone conversation between three or more parties in different
geographical locations.
 Country code. The national prefix to be used when dialing to one country from
another country.
 Direct-distance dialing (DDD), A method of making long-distance calls that allows
the caller to dial the number directly with no special assistance from an operator.
 Empathy. Seeking to understand what the caller wants to communicate rather than
what you want to understand.
 Greenwich zone. The starting point of standard time, or zero zone.
 Inflection. Varying the tone of your voice to stress meaning and add emphasis to
what is said.
 Interactive voice response (IVR). Programmable system that allows a response
after a predetermined number of rings; response at specific times of day; a variety
of announcements; prompts to lead the caller through a menu of options to acquire
information or leave messages; and repeating messages based on the length of time
the caller has been on hold.
 Interconnect equipment. Telephone equipment purchased of leased from suppliers
other than from telephone companies; equipment is digitally controlled from a
central office and provides a variety of services.
 Key telephone. Equipment that provides flexibility in making and receiving
multiple calls simultaneously by using multiple button.
 Long-distance call. Any calls placed outside the local calling area.
 Operator-assisted call. Unlike direct call you make yourself, a call that requires
special attention.
 Peron-to-person call. Phone calls in which you call a specific individual by dialing
“0,” the area code, and the telephone number, and have the operator assist you.
 Point-to-point call. Telephone call made to any individual who answers the
telephone.
 Prepaid calling card. The equivalent of a direct debit card, a card with a magnetic
strip on the back that stores the original purchase value of the card and updates
that amount each time a call is made.
 Pronunciation. Saying each work correctly, clearly, and distinctly by moving your
lips, tongue, and jaw freely.
 Telephone answering service. A switchboard attended by an operator who answers
subscribers’ telephones at designated hours.
 Telephone tag. Nonproductive method of telephoning back and forth by parties
trying to reach each other without success.
 Time zone. Standardized boundaries to establish time of day based on the degree of
longitude.
 Voice mail. Telephone answering system that stores messages digitally.