Phone rules. Example of a business conversation on the phone

Since there is no eye contact when talking on the phone, factors such as intonation, pause length, speech speed, etc. play a decisive role. Psychologists say, and this applies not only to telephone, but also personal communication, that the outcome of a conversation is 90% determined not by "what" is said, but "how". Agree that it is much more pleasant and interesting to talk with a cheerful, energetic interlocutor who carries a positive "charge" than with a lethargic and uninterested one.

The telephone imposes certain requirements on the one who uses it: after all, during a telephone conversation, your interlocutor cannot in any way evaluate what you are wearing, nor the expression on your face when you say certain words, nor the interior of the office where you are sitting, nor other non-verbal aspects, which are very helpful about the nature of communication. And yet there are non-verbal stimuli that can be manipulated with skillful handling of the telephone; these include the moment chosen for the pause and its duration, silence, amplification or weakening of the background noise, intonation expressing enthusiasm or agreement. Then, it matters a lot how quickly the person picks up the phone (after which the dial tone); this allows you to more or less accurately judge how busy he is, how close the device is to him, to what extent he is interested in being called.

1. It is important to remember that when you call, you do it at a time that is convenient for YOU, but perhaps not for your interlocutor. Don't be offended if you are asked to call back later. After all, you most likely did not quit everything for the sake of this call, and it is therefore logical to assume that the person you are calling to can also say: “Now I feel uncomfortable talking.” If you're calling someone whose habits you don't yet know, it's polite to start the conversation by asking, "Do you have time to talk to me right now?"
2. Everyone wants to feel that his call is special, so why deprive him of this pleasure? The rule - "talk to people the way you want to be talked to you" makes the job much easier.
3. When a bell rings in the office, pick up the phone until the third or fourth ring.
3. Then you need to say a greeting, the most common options for the first word spoken into the off-hook are: "Yes", "Hello", "I'm listening." These words are completely identical and impersonal in their informativeness, they can be called neutral, since they do not characterize in any way who exactly picked up the phone and in which organization or firm. Therefore, in business communication you need to abandon neutral reviews and replace them with informative ones. You should always start a conversation by introducing yourself and your organization, both when you call and when they call you. People love to know who they are talking to. This, in addition, creates an atmosphere of trust and helps to better understand the interlocutor.
5. Find any friendly formula that you like (how you would like to be answered). In any case, the subscriber must know who he is talking to, or at least where he is. It is best to use a single form of greeting: firstly, it is respectable, and secondly, the company acquires a face, its own style.

Instead of "Can I help you?" it is better to say: “How can I help you?”. You can not ask the question: "Who is this?" or “Who asks him?”. It's more correct to say, "May I know who I'm talking to?" or “Tell me, please, how to introduce you?”.

6. It goes without saying that the conversation should begin with the business message that made you call.
7. During a conversation, you need to carefully monitor your diction. Words must be pronounced clearly and distinctly to avoid being asked again. Names, titles and numbers require special attention.
8. The conversation should be conducted in a friendly, calm tone, not quickly, but not too slowly. Consider professional level interlocutor. Follow the logic of your statements, argue them, but without discontent and aggression.
9. To avoid wasting time, to business call better to prepare in advance. Everything you might need during a conversation should be kept at hand. It is also advisable to make a list of questions so that you do not miss anything important and do not create unnecessary pauses. Surely everyone had to aimlessly "hang" on the line while the interlocutor was looking for documents or the right thing.
10. At the end of the conversation, you need to make sure that you have understood the information correctly. If you have been asked to pass something on to a third party, try not to forget about it by writing down the request first.
11. The voice gives out the mood, which is perfectly captured by the interlocutor. Therefore, emotions must be controlled. It is unacceptable to shift your irritation, fatigue or Bad mood to the interlocutor. Even the posture in which a person speaks affects intonation. And if you are lying in a chair and leafing through a magazine with your free hand, you can be sure that the interlocutor will feel it.
12. During the conversation, also make sure that the client does not receive information that is not intended for him. This happens when an employee covers the phone with his hand to clarify some details with colleagues. It would be wiser to use the "mute" button, which is equipped with all modern devices, if, of course, the client is ready to wait.
13. To save time, try not to allow the interlocutor to deviate from the topic of the conversation, tactfully returning him to the purpose of the call. If the conversation with the interlocutor is delayed, sometimes you should correctly ask your counterpart: "Do you have time to continue the conversation?".
13. Often when problems arise, you can hear such phrases as “I don’t do this”, “it’s not my fault”, “I don’t know”. Such statements present the company in an unfavorable light. A client may have a quite reasonable question: what do the employees of this company do? In any case, do not immediately give a negative answer. The word “no” makes it harder to solve the problem positively. A sincere desire to quickly and effectively help the client in most cases neutralizes the brewing conflict.
15. Usually people conduct business conversations on a business phone. If you still had to disturb someone at home on business, then you should apologize. Only after that, briefly state the essence of the issue and arrange a meeting or a call to work. At home, people have the right to take a break from business, and we must take this rule into account.
16. Choose the most convenient time for the call, so as not to cause inconvenience to the subscriber. Calling someone's home before 9 a.m. and after 10 p.m. is a violation of elementary etiquette.
17. If the subscriber is silent for 5-6 beeps, stop calling.
18. You can't call a number you already know home phone your partner, unless he himself gave this number to you and did not tell him that he can call home.
19. Business calls to home numbers on weekends and holidays should be avoided.
20. It is permissible to instruct an employee or secretary to get through to the person you are interested in.
21. If your colleague is asked to answer the phone, then it is impossible to find out who is asking him.
22. In the event that you are very busy, it is better to turn off the phone or ask the secretary to answer the phone.
23. Respond politely to someone who called by mistake.
23. If an error occurs when dialing a number, the misunderstanding will be immediately clarified and will not entail loss of time to clarify it.
25. If the interlocutor did not introduce himself, it is quite appropriate to politely ask who you are talking to. It is most convenient to do this at the beginning of a conversation.
26. It is necessary to remember the rules of the conversation. Always try to speak smoothly, restrain your emotions, listen to the interlocutor without interrupting him. At the same time, do not be silent for a long time, confirm your participation in the conversation with some brief remarks. Otherwise, your interlocutor may think that you have been distracted from the conversation and are not listening to it, or that the connection has been interrupted.
27. If there really was a disconnection for technical reasons, the one who called back calls back - this is the rule so as not to interfere with each other while dialing the number.
28. During a business telephone conversation, it is necessary to create an atmosphere of mutual trust. Speak in a calm, friendly tone. It is very important that the conversation evokes positive emotions, this will help you complete agreements with the client in a worthy manner and will have a good effect on your reputation. In a conversation with a client, it is useful to resort to the following phrases: "How can I help you?" or "Can I help you?", "Sorry, I didn't hear what you said," "Could you repeat it?", constituting the etiquette of a business conversation. An impolite response from a secretary may discourage a potential client from contacting the specified firm. 29. If the required employee is absent, you must politely apologize and indicate the time when he will be at the workplace.
30. If there are any disagreements, try to resolve them tactfully. In no case should you give vent to emotions when working with clients. We must always remember that the effectiveness of a business telephone conversation depends on emotional state person and his mood. Excessive emotionality creates the prerequisites for speech inaccuracy, inaccuracy of phrases, increases the time of the conversation. Even if your interlocutor shows a tendency to conduct it in a raised voice, expresses unfair reproaches, be patient and do not answer him the same, and if possible, transfer the conversation to a calmer channel and try to put yourself in his place or partially admit that he is right. State your arguments briefly and clearly. Your arguments must be correct in substance, convincing and competent in form.
31. When working with clients, your desire to quickly and effectively solve a problem or provide assistance in solving it is very important. People always appreciate if they are given enough attention and help in resolving their issues. Attentive and sympathetic attitude towards customers will have a positive impact on the image of the company.
32. It is always necessary to remember the intonation, tone and timbre of the voice, since, according to most psychologists, they carry up to 40% of information about a person. Talk on the phone at the same volume level as you would during a face-to-face conversation. Loud speech on the phone is often less intelligible because the microphone and phone settings are set to normal, average volume levels.
33. Don't start shouting if you can't hear the person you're talking to: it's quite possible that he just hears you well, and this can make an unfavorable impression on him. Therefore, in case of poor hearing, you should not raise your voice yourself, but ask the person who is calling you to speak louder, and at the same time ask how he hears you.
33. In telephone conversations, it is better to avoid the following expressions, which can cause distrust in the client: "Hi", "Speak", "Everyone is having lunch", "No one", "Call back", "I don't know", "We can't do this do", "You must", "Wait a second, I'll be back soon", "I can't tell you, because there is no accountant, and I myself don't know anything", "goes", "good", "okay" , "while", etc. Such expressions instantly create a feeling of distrust towards the representative of the company and towards herself.
35. You should not use specific, professional expressions that may be incomprehensible to the interlocutor, and this can cause a feeling of embarrassment and irritation of the interlocutor.
36. A business conversation on the phone cannot be accompanied by sipping tea or chewing gum. If during the conversation you accidentally sneezed or coughed, apologize to the interlocutor.
37. An indispensable condition is your competence in this area and the ability to resolve any issue with the client.
38. During a business conversation, succinctly, briefly and competently state the essence of the problem. Always remember that people do not like to communicate with a person who is not able to give them answers to their questions.
39. If it is impossible to resolve the situation on your own, you must clearly indicate to the person to whom in this organization he can turn for help.
40. To successfully conduct business, one must be able to interest the interlocutor. Try to do it from the very first phrase. At the same time, master the correct use of methods of suggestion and persuasion.
41. If you get a call during your conversation with a visitor (employee), you need to know that the rules of the conversation prescribe not to interrupt the conversation with telephone conversations. You should first apologize to the visitor for the need to interrupt the conversation, then pick up the phone, say hello, tell the name of the company, last name, indicate that you are talking with the visitor and agree to postpone the conversation. In this case, your actions may be as follows:
- - ask the caller to wait a bit without hanging up (if your face-to-face conversation is close to completion and you are called by a younger person in age or position);
- -- arrange to be called back in a few minutes (if you are in this moment do not end the conversation and not a higher official calls);
- - write down the phone number of the caller and call him back at a convenient time for both of you. As a result, the interlocutor will see that you are putting off other things to talk with him. This will show that you treat the visitor with great respect. If you interrupt the conversation by talking on the phone, you will certainly emphasize your bad manners. And rescheduling the conversation with the caller on the phone will help you not to lose the right client.
42. If the phone rings while you are talking on another phone, pick up the phone, say that you are busy, and find out from the second interlocutor whether he will wait for the end of the first conversation or you will call him back after a while. Let the first client know that you need to talk to another person, this will allow you to end the first conversation.
43. If the conversation with the first interlocutor is very responsible, as an exception, you can not pick up the second phone and tell your client that if the other person really needs it, he will call back later.
44. Keep a pen and paper near your phone. In order not to miss important details of the conversation, train yourself to take notes either during the conversation or immediately after it ends. During the conversation, write down important details such as names, numbers, and basic information that your subordinates and colleagues can then review.
45. The initiative to end the conversation belongs either to the caller or the eldest of the speakers social status or by age. It is very important to end it politely. It is best to use the phrases: "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I'm afraid to be late for the meeting", "It was very pleasant to talk with you, but I have to call back to another organization. Can I call you later?". You can also refer to the great employment, the need to complete the work begun. Offers such as "Thanks for calling", "It was nice talking to you", etc. will help to politely end the conversation.
46. If the conversation with the business partner was constructive, then it would be nice to end it with an agreement on further cooperation.
47. Make sure that information transmitted in someone's absence reaches the addressee. Although it is not easy to organize the exchange of information through third parties, it can pay off handsomely. In order to find out what you need, ask questions according to the questionnaire principle (“Where are you calling from?”, “Your name and your phone number?”, etc.).

And the last tip. After finishing a business conversation, spend 5-6 minutes reviewing its content and style. Analyze your impressions. Find vulnerabilities in it. Try to understand the reason for your mistakes. It would be nice to watch the people talking on the phone, analyze their conversations in terms of brevity, tact, effectiveness. It is very useful to record a few conversations on a tape recorder and then listen to them. All this will subsequently help you, firstly, to save time by reducing the duration of negotiations, and secondly, it will help you understand the most common mistakes made during telephone communication, which will have a very favorable effect on both your prestige and the image of your company.

How to talk on the phone during business communication.

Business communication is impossible to imagine without telephone conversations. Partners, officials, customers find out most of the questions using the phone. The same is true for business contacts.
How to use the possibilities of telephone communication effectively and competently, so that precious time is not wasted and business contacts are increased? Knowledge of telephone etiquette will help to create the image of a person who knows the specifics of his work in a business environment.

Telephone etiquette or basic rules of behavior during a telephone conversation: a list

If you, by occupation, call on behalf of a company or organization that receives incoming calls or forwards customer calls to other persons, then you definitely need to familiarize yourself with the basic rules of telephone etiquette. This will help you establish yourself in a professional environment as a competent specialist, as well as among clients.

The norms of telephone etiquette dictate their terms to modern companies that systematically care about their reputation. Knowledge of telephone etiquette is one of them.

Which of the company's employees should know by heart and put into practice the rules of telephone etiquette:

the person who receives incoming calls
person who calls on behalf of the organization
who receives customer calls forwarded to him

What does it mean to follow the rules of telephone etiquette:

When talking on the phone, it is important to maintain an even intonation of your own voice and not give vent to emotions. Since during a telephone conversation one of the three channels that allow people to communicate is activated (they include “sign language”, intonation and words), the interlocutor, losing one of the channels, begins to perceive the meaning of the message in a somewhat abbreviated form.
The meaning of what was said over the phone is conveyed as follows: the absence of "sign language" leads to the fact that the remaining two channels (intonation and words) account for 100% of the meaning of what was said, more precisely, 86% is allocated to intonation, and only 14% to words.
The voice of the interlocutor conveys the emotional coloring of the message. The interlocutor develops his own impression of who called him. Therefore, by communicating any information to the interlocutor by phone, you can not only influence its initial perception, but also be able to create a mood for the interlocutor.

Try to convey your energy and enthusiasm with intonation

smile during telephone communication is also necessary. You should not think that, deprived of the opportunity to see you, the interlocutor will be able to catch the confidential notes you need and a positive attitude in the absence of a smile. Try to convey your enthusiasm with intonation.
When talking on the phone, do not fall apart in a chair, do not stretch your legs on the table. In a semi-recumbent or semi-sitting position, the angle of the diaphragm shifts, which changes the timbre of the voice. At the other end of the wire, they will definitely guess that at that moment you are lying. The only thing that you can convey to a client or an employee of another organization with the help of a phone call in this way is your disinterest and complete indifference.
Responding to phone call, don't forget to greet the caller. However, for different times of the day, use the appropriate greeting: " Good morning! Good afternoon! Good evening!".
When you greet the person who dialed your organization's phone number, you show how important this call is to you and that you enjoy the conversation, no matter what information you hear. But even if your personal attitude towards the person from whom you need to find out some information over the phone has a negative connotation, then on the other end of the wire they should not guess about it.

Don't let your emotions run wild on the phone

There is a category of people who, picking up the phone, say invariably and without any intonation "Hello!", "Yes!", "I'm listening!", "Company (name)!", "At the machine!". You should not be likened to such "telephone dinosaurs", because the caller after such a "greeting" is unlikely to express a desire to continue the conversation. Most likely, he will also dryly report necessary information and end the conversation.

A telephone conversation after the greeting includes the name of the organization. When receiving outside calls, remember to give the full name of the firm or institution you work for.

There are two options for an official greeting, which are carried out over the phone:

Option 1: with a minimal approach.

The caller greets the caller and names the organization. An example of such a greeting: “Good evening! The editors of the magazine "Rocket".

Option 2: with the maximum approach.

This option implies a greeting, the name of the organization, the name of the person who answers the call. An example of such a greeting: “Good morning! The editors of the magazine "Rocket", Nadezhda Viktorovna is listening!

Whichever option you like best, use that one. Both options help create the impression of a professional person answering the phone. The caller will have the same opinion about the organization.

Answer an incoming call after the 2nd or 3rd ring

One of the main laws of business telephone communication is that you need to answer an incoming call after the 2nd or 3rd ring. The “telephone” personnel who are responsible for answering telephone calls (telephone operators, company secretaries, hotline workers) learn this rule as the most important thing.
Why is it not recommended to pick up the phone after the first ring? Everything is explained very simply: the caller may think that the employee of the organization was bored before, not knowing what to do, waiting for the next call. In the few seconds that you have before the second or third call, you will be distracted from the business that you were busy with before and completely focus on the incoming call.
Answering incoming calls after the 4th or even 5th ring is not recommended for the simple reason that the caller may become impatient while waiting for an answer on the phone. During this short period of time, the caller will have time to form a "certain" opinion regarding the company's interest in customers and the ability to quickly respond to their needs and problems.

Answering incoming calls after the 4th or even 5th ring is not recommended

Who should introduce themselves on the phone first?

Having dialed the phone number you need, do not repeat the mistakes of those who start the conversation with the phrase: "You are worried about (name of organization)" or "You are worried about the issue." This is how insecure people or those who want to appear polite begin a telephone conversation. Why are these phrases unsuccessful? If you “disturb (disturb)” the person on the other end of the wire, then from the very first minutes of the conversation he has a negative attitude towards the caller and the call itself.
This will automatically cause a feeling of anxiety, and thereby, as if you yourself give a reason to treat your call as unwanted, which only distracts you from important matters.
Do not create uncomfortable moments for yourself and the interlocutor with phrases that sound like "I have to disturb you and violate your comfort, because I need to clarify some questions."

With what phrase to start a conversation? Say hello and introduce yourself. For example, it might sound like this: “Good afternoon! Gennady Pavlovich is calling you from the printing house.”

Who should introduce themselves on the phone first

Video: Business phone etiquette

How to properly introduce yourself on the phone when making an outgoing call in a company, office, home call?

When making an outgoing call, be sure to ask if your interlocutor can talk to you. After all, he can have his own to-do list or plan meetings, meetings. Most likely, before picking up the phone, he was busy with something and you tore him away from this activity. Keep this in mind when making a call to a mobile phone.
After you've introduced yourself, don't rush to jump right into the question that prompted you to call him. Find out if the interlocutor has time to listen to you, and only if the answer is yes, get down to business. So you show that you value his time and position yourself in the eyes of the interlocutor as a professional. This cannot but inspire respect for you and the organization you represent.

Option 1: Introduce yourself first. After that, ask the interlocutor if he has time to listen to you, while voicing the purpose of the call.

Option 2: Introduce yourself, name the purpose of the call, and only after that ask if the interlocutor will be able to devote time to you.

How to greet a client on the phone during a business conversation?

If you are not the initiator of the conversation:

"Art Center Leonardo, good evening, administrator Olga, I'm listening to you."
If you consider such a phrase too long, then you can limit yourself to an abbreviated greeting: “Leonardo Art Center, good evening!”.
Very often you can hear such a greeting: "Hello!". However, it is permissible to say hello in a personal meeting, and in business communication such free phrases are unacceptable.

If you are the caller:

Introduce yourself, state your organization or company name, and ask if your interlocutor has time to

Video: Correctly introduce ourselves to the client on the phone

How to use the phone correctly: telephone etiquette phrases

The following phrases will be the key to proper business communication over the phone:

If it's not hard for you
Thank you for your time
Do you have time to wait for a response? Will I need to contact the supply department?
I will verify this information and call you back.
Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule for this conversation.
Thank you for taking the time to talk despite your busy schedule.

The following questions will help you clarify your information:

Can you hear me well?
Sorry, I didn't hear. Please repeat.

Phrases of phone etiquette

How to end a business call?

End the conversation with a standard question that requires a clear answer:

So, are we in agreement on this issue?
May I take it that we have reached an agreement on this matter?
As I understand you (in this matter), can we count on your support?

How to answer phone calls in the office and at home?

Video: How to answer a phone call?

It concerns only you and the interlocutor, therefore, before making a call, move away from other people at a distance of about five meters. If this is not possible, it is better to postpone the call until the situation is more favorable.

If they call you at the moment when you are in a crowded place, in public transport, in a subway crossing, etc., it is better to accept the call and promise the interlocutor to call back later.

You should not speak loudly, especially if there are strangers next to you: as a rule, the quality mobile communications allows you to hear the voice of the interlocutor, communicating in an undertone, while others will not feel inconvenience.

The optimal time for making business calls on weekdays is from 8 am to 10 pm. It is not recommended for business matters on Monday before 12 noon and on Friday after 13 pm, as well as during the lunch break, but this ban is not strict.

After dialing the number, wait for an answer within 5 . A longer call is considered impolite.

If your call went unanswered, etiquette is allowed to call back no earlier than 2 hours later. Most likely, the called subscriber will notice the missed call and call back himself.

SMS can be sent at any time of the day. It is assumed that the subscriber who received SMS will determine the mode of their reception and the time when he will be able to read them and respond to messages.

During business negotiations, meetings, mobile should be turned off. If you are waiting for an emergency call, put the device on silent mode, and before calling, apologize to those present and leave the room to talk.

Traditionally turn off Cell phones during air travel, in a hospital, in places of worship, in a theater, and wherever there is a sign asking you to do so.

Polite mobile communication

After greeting the called subscriber, be sure to ask if it is convenient for him to talk at the moment. If not, ask when you can call again. If the interlocutor promises to call back on his own, do not insist on the opposite.

If the conversation is going to be long, warn the interlocutor about this and specify how much time he can devote to you.

It is considered polite to give the right to be the first to hang up the phone to whom you called. Do not abruptly end the conversation.

A business call on a mobile phone can last 3-7 minutes, a personal one - as long as both interlocutors want. But it is still not worth it to delay the communication too much. If the speakers have a lot of questions that they would like to discuss, it is better to arrange a personal meeting or transfer the communication, for example, to, if possible.

It is also considered impolite to be silent on the phone for a long time. If the interlocutor's speech is not interrupted by a pause for a long time, show that you are responding to his words.

Too emotional communication on the phone is unacceptable! It is necessary to sort things out at a personal meeting - this is what has always been called a “non-telephone conversation”.

Successful negotiations directly affect the number of successful transactions and satisfied customers in offline and online business. After all, have you met such masters of telephone etiquette in business communication, who in a few seconds can win over a person and influence his decision, regardless of the distance?

Of course, such techniques should be constantly learned, but basic rules for conducting a business telephone conversation everyone who uses the phone for business needs to know.

Important business phone etiquette for outbound calls

If you think you got the wrong number, don't ask stupid questions like "what's your number?" or “Is this such and such…?”. It is better to check the number yourself and call back.
Don't forget to introduce yourself . For example, in response to a greeting on the other end of the wire, you must respond in the form of “welcome words, your company name, position and last name. And only then move on to the purpose of the conversation.
As for the purpose of the conversation, then it is advisable to plan it clearly in advance . You can use a graphical, textual or schematic conversation plan. You should see your tasks and during the conversation mark their completion, resolution or problems that have arisen, which is also important.
Don't drag out the conversation. The average time should be no more than 3 minutes. If you can't meet this gap, you may have poorly thought out the conversation plan or the problem requires a personal meeting.
Never make calls in the early morning, at lunchtime, or at the end of the work day.
If your telephone business conversation is interrupted due to disconnection, you should call back because they called first.
If your call was not previously scheduled, and you are calling with an unexpected question, then according to the rules of a business telephone conversation you need to ask if the partner has time to answer, and indicate the approximate time for the resolution of your issue. For example - "Hello, I'm such and such, I'm calling about such and such a question, it will take about ... minutes, do you have free time? If not, arrange another call or meeting.
After the conversation, do not forget to thank for the call or new information. Such simple feature A business phone call ends the conversation and suggests further collaboration.

Telephone etiquette rules for incoming calls

Answer the phone call within 3 rings - so says the etiquette of a business telephone conversation.
All materials must be at hand , and before you should lie the general plan of the conversation with foreseen deviations. This will help to avoid unnecessary stress in the workplace and increase your competence in the eyes of customers and superiors.
Avoid parallel communication . If you receive multiple calls, take them one at a time. Believe me, you will save your time and show interest in the other person's offer.
If the interlocutor expresses a negative opinion about your company, product or work - try to understand and take some responsibility for yourself. This will increase the trust on the part of the partner and possibly return your client.
Use an auto-responder for non-business hours or with a large flow of calls. Write in the message useful information for all clients, as well as opportunities callback during convenient business hours.

The main mistakes of a telephone business conversation - how to avoid them?

Incorrect diction or careless pronunciation makes understanding between two people difficult. Business telephone etiquette involves competent, legible and unhurried speech.
extraneous noise may be unpleasant to the interlocutor, who finds it difficult to imagine not only you, but also the environment. In this case, he may think about the lack of confidentiality of information, inattention to his problem, or negative feedback about your company from competitors. It is not necessary to portray "ebricious activity" - a rather attentive and respectful attitude to the partner's questions.
Excessive emotionality speaks of your unprofessionalism, and your mood may be misunderstood on the other end of the line. It is enough to answer with a slight enthusiasm in your voice, preferably with a smile. Be sure to let us know that you are listening carefully using "I understand, yes, great, I agree." If you do not understand, ask again “Did I understand you correctly?”, repeating the words of the client. The basic rule of telephone etiquette is calmness and a sincere desire to help in the answering voice.

In a business conversation, it is always necessary to make such an impression that they see a professional in you. And this should be done in the first minutes of the conversation. The image and success of the company depends largely on how communicative employees are and how well they know how to talk with potential clients and partners. To be effective, any employee should know some rules of communication.

What are the rules for talking on the phone?

First, you should carefully monitor your intonation. Since during the conversation the interlocutor may not see you, this does not exclude the factor that he cannot hear you. So try to be kind. And this will contribute to a smile and good mood throughout the conversation. Rules on the phone imply complete control of your emotions.

Secondly, during a conversation, you should control your posture. If you lounge in a chair during a conversation, then this can ruin your reputation. If you stand all the time during the conversation, then the speech will take on assertiveness and energy, and this contributes primarily to the fact that it becomes too hasty. It is necessary to adapt to a certain pace of conversation.

Thirdly, you need to properly greet. Greeting is one of the most important elements that make up the rules of communication. In this case, there are subtleties and nuances. For example, instead of "Hello" it's better to say "Good afternoon". This expression is much easier to pronounce. And yes, it is much easier to understand. Answering calls with the words “hello” and “yes” is in no case impossible. First of all, you should provide information about the company, and then about your position.

It is always important to present yourself correctly. First, the caller introduces himself. You can not give the name and position only when the right person is not in place. In the event that you dial someone's phone number, then after you introduce yourself, find out about the availability of time. Only then should you talk about the purpose of the call.

The rules of communication also imply that you should not keep waiting. The maximum time it takes to pick up the phone is about six rings. After that, you can stop calling. It is necessary to answer approximately after the third beep. This will save the caller time. But you should not rush to the phone, otherwise they will think that you are messing around at work.

Do not forget that the duration of calls should be approximately five minutes. The rules of communication do not provide for lyrical digressions. Besides, it takes too much working time. You should not be silent for a long time, as pauses in a business conversation are not needed. All they do is annoy. And if you were silent for about a minute, this will be a significant disadvantage for your reputation.

In addition, you need to prepare in advance for a business call. Do not make unnecessary calls to anyone just to clarify the information you are interested in. All questions and details should be discussed immediately during the first conversation. To avoid this problem, you can make a special list of questions. It is always worth answering the questions in detail. Short answers will not be able to maintain your reputation at the proper level and will not show your competence in the issue under discussion.

The golden rules of communication were invented just for such cases. If you follow them, then your rating will be responsible employee will be high.