Soft Skills for a Digital Workplace: Verbal Communication Unit C: Developing Professional Telephone Skills

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Soft Skills for a Digital Workplace Verbal
Communication Unit CDeveloping Professional
Telephone Skills
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Objectives

• Explore professional telephone communication
• Place telephone calls
• Receive telephone calls
• Use voice mail
• Leave professional messages

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Objectives

• Take calls for other people
• Screen, hold, and transfer calls
• Develop cell phone etiquette

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Exploring Professional Telephone Communication

• In the workplace, you use the telephone to
  communicate with everyone with whom you have a
  professional relationship.
• The success of business relationships depends on
  your phone skills.

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Exploring Professional Telephone Communication

• Guidelines for using the telephone in
  professional settings
• Use the telephone when appropriate
• Identify yourself and your caller
• Remember that you lose visual cues
• Keep it positive and cheerful
• Use technology effectively

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Exploring Professional Telephone Communication

• Choosing phone calls or e-mail messages

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Placing Telephone Calls

• Placing a call involves
• Accessing a dial tone, entering the phone number
  of the person you want to contact
• Entering the phone number
• Waiting while the recipients phone rings
• Greeting the person who answers
• Respect others time
• Plan an agenda for the call

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Placing Telephone Calls

• Guidelines for placing telephone calls
• Organize you call before you make it
• Dial calls carefully
• Let the telephone ring
• Introduce yourself immediately
• Follow up with the purpose of your call
• Conclude your calls promptly

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Receiving Telephone Calls

• The way you answer the phone makes an immediate
  impression.
• When answering the phone in the workplace,
  identify yourself to let callers know who they
  reached.
• Establish a friendly tone.
• Be responsive in general.

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Receiving Telephone Calls

• Guidelines for receiving telephone calls
• Answer promptly with an appropriate greeting
• Introduce yourself
• Focus on your caller
• Be prepared to talk
• Dont let the telephone interrupt you

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Receiving Telephone Calls

• Be prepared to talk when you answer the phone

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Using Voice Mail

• Businesses often use answering machines and
  voice-mail systems to accept messages when you
  are unavailable.
• Voice-mail systems connect telephones to
  computers that store messages.

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Using Voice Mail

• Guidelines for using voice mail
• Record your own message
• Keep your outgoing message short
• Use a generic message for daily use
• Add detail if you will be away for more than 24
  hours
• Check and return calls daily
• Maintain your voice-mail inbox

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Leaving Professional Messages

• Leaving a professional message increases the
  likelihood that your call will be listened to and
  returned in a timely manner.

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Leaving Professional Messages

• Guidelines for leaving a professional messages
• Speak slowly and clearly
• Leave your name and telephone number
• Make it easy for the other person to write down
  your message
• Keep your messages short
• Include the date and time that you called
• Use basic courtesy

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Taking Calls for Other People

• Remember that you are representing someone else
  and have an obligation to handle the call as
  professionally as you can.

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Taking Calls for Other People

• Guidelines for taking calls for someone else
• Let the caller know who you are
• Avoid sharing details
• Take accurate messages
• Keep the conversation brief and focused
• Avoid the in a meeting excuse

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Taking Calls for Other People

• Taking messages for others

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Screening, Holding, and Transferring Calls

• In an organization, calls frequently need to be
  held or routed to someone else.
• In some cases, you might need to restrict
  transfers to certain callers and take messages
  from others, or screen calls.
• Screening is frequently used to avoid
  interrupting busy people.

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Screening, Holding, and Transferring Calls

• Guidelines for screening, holding, and
  transferring calls
• Put callers on hold when you leave the line
• Ask before holding
• Check on callers frequently
• Transfer calls carefully
• Screen calls courteously

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Screening, Holding, and Transferring Calls

• Handling phone calls

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Developing Cell Phone Etiquette

• Over 4 billion people use cell phones.
• Cell phones demand a special set of guidelines so
  that you use them without disturbing others or
  distracting yourself.

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Developing Cell Phone Etiquette

• Dos and Donts of cell phone etiquette
• Follow the 10-foot rule
• Be careful of cell-yell
• Maintain confidentiality in public
• Avoid loud and annoying ringtones
• Turn off the phone
• Dont interrupt live conversations

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Developing Cell Phone Etiquette

• Dont let a cell phone interrupt a meeting

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Technology_at_Work Voice over Internet Protocol

• Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allows you to
  make phone calls using your high-speed Internet
  connection.
• Your voice travels across the Internet as data,
  similar to e-mails.
• VoIP allows you to make long-distance phone calls
  for little or no cost.
• To use VoIP, you contract with a VoIP service
  provider.

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Technology_at_Work Voice over Internet Protocol

• Considerations with VoIP
• Decrease long-distance expenses
• Increase your mobility
• Store voice mail
• Consider connection quality
• Protect against power failures

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Summary

• Phone skills are critical to successful business
  relationships.
• Follow the guidelines for making telephone calls.
• Be courteous when receiving telephone calls.
• Voice-mail systems take calls when youre
  unavailable.
• Leave professional messages.

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Summary

• Be professional when taking calls for others.
• Follow the guidelines for screening, holding, and
  transferring calls.
• Develop cell phone etiquette.

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Summary

• A request message asks for information or action
• A response message replies to a request and
  answers questions
• Use the appropriate approach when writing bad-new
  messages
• A documentation message confirms information
• A wiki is a Web site that many users can
  contribute to by creating and editing content