BUSINESS TELEPHONING

Receptionist: Good morning, Mr. Smith. How can I assist you today?

Manager: Good morning. I need to schedule a meeting with our client, Mr.
Johnson, for tomorrow afternoon.

Receptionist: Of course, Mr. Smith. What time would you prefer for the meeting?

Manager: Let's aim for 3:00 PM. Is that slot available?

Receptionist: Let me check our calendar. Yes, 3:00 PM is available. I'll go ahead
and schedule the meeting with Mr. Johnson for that time. Is there anything else you
would like me to include in the meeting details?

Manager: Please add that we will meet in the conference room on the third floor.
Also, could you send an email to Mr. Johnson to confirm the time and location?

Receptionist: Certainly, Mr. Smith. I'll make a note of the conference room and
send the confirmation email right away. Is there anything else I can assist you with
today?

Manager: That should cover it for now, thank you. Please let me know if there are
any updates or changes.

Receptionist: Okay, I'll tell you that the president of the technological university
contacted you again asking for an appointment, I don't know if you'll accept.

Manager: Sure, I remember the topic to be discussed, please reach out and
confirm the appointment for Thursday at 10am, any other pending?

Receptionist: At the moment only those.

Manager: Perfect, I'll keep an eye on anything.

Receptionist: Thank you, Mr. Smith. If you need anything else, feel free to reach
out. Have a great day!
 10 GOOD TIPS TO HAVE A GOOD BUSINESS TELEPHONING
COMMUNICATION

1. Promptly answer calls. The average ring takes 6 seconds. If you let the
phone ring 5 times, that is equal to 30 seconds. Picking up to quickly can
also catch people off guard. It is a good practice to answer the call on the
3rd ring.

2. Be warm and welcoming. During a phone call, you can transmit more than
your voice, you can transfer emotions. For this reason, keeping a warm and
helping attitude can leave a positive impression on your callers.

3. Introduce yourself and your business. By introducing your company and

4. Speak clearly. There are several key elements you need to follow to clearly
communicate with callers, including: articulate your words, use good
posture, slow down and speak up.

5. Do not use slang or buzz words. Use language they will understand.

6. Ask before you put people on hold. Leaving people hanging on a call and
unsure of what is going on can agitate people. Setting expectations on a call
is critical. So, if you are going to put someone on hold or going to transfer
them, let them know what to expect.

7. Don’t just put calls through. When transferring a call, let the caller know
what is going to happen next.

8. Be prepared for your calls. When you answer a call, your focus needs to be
on the person at the other end of the call.
9. Take messages properly. When you need to take a message, make sure to
take all the pertinent information like name of the caller, the reason for their
call, the best return phone number, and even which business they are
calling from.

10. Summarize the call before it ends. A key ingredient to great communication
is listening. Callers will know you were listening when you can accurately
summarize what their call was about.

10 ERRORS IN TELEPHONING COMMUNICATION IN GENERAL.

1. Saying “Hello?” in a way that sounds like you are annoyed and/ or too busy
to speak.
2. Answering friendly/ casual small talk questions that need longer answers
with just “I’m fine, thank you. And you?” (instead of “Great. I went… How
about you? Did you have a good weekend?”, etc)
3. Too much small talk.
4. Silence at the end of the small talk before someone gets down to business.
5. Using super-formal written language like “I am calling with regards to…”
when standard business-level phrases like “I’m calling about…” would be
fine and more standard.
6. Pronouncing telephone numbers like big numbers (“Extension one hundred
and thirty four” X) instead of individual numbers (“Extension one three four”)
7. Mixing together “Can you repeat that?” and “Can you say that again?” to
make “Can you repeat that again?”, which would mean to say something for
the third or fourth time, not just for the second time.
8. Listening in silence instead of using active listening phrases like “Of course”,
“Sure”, “I understand”, “Got it”, “Really?” and “Yeah”.
9. Going straight to “Thanks for calling” without checking if the other person
has finished.
10. Waiting for the receiver to say “Can I help you with anything else?”
(perhaps in silence or saying “Weeeeeelll”), instead of just saying “Well, I
think that’s all for now, thanks”.