Telephone Skills: A Self-Paced Guidejoanne.jeuch.com/Portfolio_Content/Matrix_Content/EDTD672... ·...

Telephone Skills: A Self-Paced Guide

The telephone – it sits so calmly on the corner of our desk, on the counter in our kitchen, on the table beside the bed. When was the last time you really stopped to think about it? In today’s high-tech world, we have been trained and educated in so many vast and far-reaching areas, and yet here is an appliance that the average person uses at the very least once per day, but are we using correctly? Are we getting the most out of those minutes and hours that we spend each day on the telephone?

Think back over the last week or the last month – think about a telephone call that did not go as planned. Maybe you were not able to reach the

person you wanted to talk to, maybe the person on the other end of the phone did not understand your request, maybe they got frustrated and angry, maybe you got frustrated and angry. Whatever happened during your less-than-perfect call, have you ever stopped to think about what you could have done differently that may have improved the outcome of that call? Now is your chance. Think about that phone experience as you proceed through the pages of this module. Hopefully, by the end of it, you will be able to come up with some new strategies so that the next time you place a call, you can be assured of getting the best possible outcome.

These days, opportunity does not knock, it calls, and I think I just heard a telephone ring. Are you ready to answer it? If so, then let’s get started!

Introduction

The telephone is one of the most commonly used communication tools in the world today, and yet the experts say that the vast majority of the users are not skilled in the most basic aspects of telephone usage. Throughout the course of this self-paced module we will explore the various elements of the telephone, everything from answering a phone, to leaving a message, to using advanced telephone skills.

Overall, we will be covering the following topics:Benefits of good telephone skillsTelephone etiquetteTelephone messagesTelephone call planningHow to minimize games of “telephone tag”Power Talking

While you may think that you are well-versed in basic telephone etiquette and skills, we ask that you do not skip any sections of the module. Each section builds on those that came before it and besides, you never know -- there may be some tidbits of knowledge that surprise you!!

In each section, you may find thinking exercises. You will be able to identify them by the following heading: Thinking Exercise

These exercises are for your benefit only and will not be graded. They are simply to use as the name implies, as thinking exercises, to see how the material presented in this module might apply to your day-to-day life. Not every section of the module will have thinking exercise, but most do.

At the end of each section, you will find a set of practice exercises. You will be able to identify them by the following heading:

Practice Exercises – Set #1 These are self-graded tests to help you see if you have understood all the information presented in the section. There will be an answer key following each set of exercise. You are encouraged to review any material that you did not answer correctly on the practice exercises, but you will not be held back from continuing on to the next section of the module.

The Benefits of Good Telephone Skills

Despite the advent of personal computers and e-mail, the telephone is still the world’s most powerful communication tool. There is no business activity that we spend more time doing and less time improving than using the telephone. And it doesn’t just stop there, either. Telephone use has spread out from the office and in to our homes, our cars… everywhere!

You may be wondering why this module ranks the telephone above e-mail when we are bombarded by e-mails in all aspects of our lives as well – at home, at the office, on our cellular telephones, our PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). There are a few reasons for that. First, contrary to what you may think on those days when there are 250 e-mails in your “inbox” before lunch, not everyone has access to e-mail. True, not everyone has access to a telephone either, but the number of people without access to a telephone is quite a bit lower than those without access to a computer. Second, e-mail is fast, but it does not allow for the real-time question-and-answer discussions that can be accomplished over the telephone.

Up to this point, we have only discussed why the telephone is so powerful, but that power can only be fully realized when in the hands of a trained professional. No, we have not suddenly changed topics from telephone skills to combat weaponry, but as with any tool, if the user is skilled, they can use that tool to accomplish things that the untrained user can only dream of. If used skillfully, the telephone can afford you three key benefits:

1. Increased efficiency,2. Time savings, and,3. Improved public image.

Increased EfficiencyEfficiency, loosely defined, is getting the most out of what we put in. According to AT&T, fewer than one out of three calls are completed on the first try. That makes it that much more critical for us to wisely use our time on the phone. We need to leave efficient and informative messages when we do not reach our target caller, and make the most of our conversation time when we finally do reach our target caller. Possessing good telephone skills will enable us to get the most out of each telephone interaction, whether that is a conversation or a message.

Time SavingsAt first glance, one may think that increased efficiency and time savings are the same thing, when in fact they are related, but different. Increased efficiency may manifest itself as a time savings, but improved efficiency is not the only way to save time. For example, in 1986, the average business executive wasted five to seven hours a week playing “telephone tag”. With the prevalent use of e-mail and other technologies, that number has certainly decreased in recent years, but it is still a top time waster. We will introduce some simple skills that can greatly reduce the number of “turns” that you take in your games of telephone tag, thus saving time for you and the other players. (Telephone tag will be discussed in detail later in the module, but for now, telephone tag is when two people are trying to contact each other, but cannot reach each other at the time they call. The result is a seemingly endless string of telephone messages back and forth).

Improved Public ImageThis benefit is typically focused on business transactions, but should be equally essential to how we project ourselves even in our personal calls. Think of it this way: let’s say that I am calling two different banks, trying to decide where to open my new checking account. The person at the first bank answers the phone saying “Yeah?”. She sounds bored and you can tell

that she is chewing gum. In the background, you hear a sound that vaguely sounds like her finger nails sliding across a nail file. The person at the second bank answers the phone in a cheerful voice, saying “Hello. This is ABC Bank. My name is Kathy. How can I help you today?”. Just based on the first impressions created by those two interactions, where would you put your money?

Thinking Exercise

Think of a telephone call in your personal or work life that you feel was an example of good telephone skills in action. Briefly describe the call.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Which of the three benefits of good phone skills apply to your example? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Practice Exercises – Set #1

Using what you have just learned in the previous section of the module, first, try to answer the following question without referring back to the text. If your memory fails you, go ahead and look for the answers!

List the three benefits of good telephone skills.1._______________________________________________________________________2._______________________________________________________________________3._______________________________________________________________________

Once you have completed all the questions, turn the page and check your answers, but no peaking until you’ve finished!

Practice Exercises – Set #1 (Answers)

List the three benefits of good telephone skills.1. Increased efficiency2. Time savings3. Improved public image

How did you do? If your answers do not match the ones given here, go back and review this section of the module again. Once you are ready, turn the page and we’ll move on to the next topic: Basic Telephone Etiquette.

Basic Telephone Etiquette

As mentioned in the previous section, the telephone is one of the most-widely used communication tools of our time. It is important to “come across” well when we use the telephone. In fact, this is the foundation of the telephone skills that build up to the third benefit of good phone skills :Improved public image. Having a basic understanding of telephone etiquette can make all the difference in how we are perceived by the person on the other end of the phone.

Thinking Exercise – Part 1

Think of a telephone call in your personal or work life in which you felt the caller “came across” well. Briefly describe the call.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What made that call a good experience? Pay special attention to elements of the call that you think might be related to telephone etiquette.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Think of a telephone call in your personal or work life in which you felt the caller DID NOT “come across” well. Briefly describe the call.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What made that call a bad experience? Pay special attention to elements of the call that you think might be related to telephone etiquette.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The word “etiquette” is usually associated with the “right” way to do something. In handling telephone situations, there often is no “right” way to approach a given call, but there are some things to consider that may help you find different ways to handle a call that are better than others. For all calls, it is important to be polite and speak clearly – that should be common sense to all. So now that we have that much out of the way let’s start with the setting that is most familiar to all of us – our homes.

Answering the Phone at HomeThe time-honored way to answer a personal phone is still, simply, “Hello.” There are other possibilities: “This is the Smith residence” or “Mrs. Smith speaking”, but these greetings, and many others like them, leave the door wide open for the caller. By providing your name (and the correct pronunciation of it, assuming that it is more complicated than Smith), you have already given the caller a critical piece of information that, in the case of telemarketers or prank calls, you may prefer that they not know.

Placing a Call at HomeProbably the most considerate thing that you can do when placing a call is to immediately identify yourself to the person who answers the phone. How you identify yourself depends on how well you know the person who answers. For example, if you are calling a close friend, and he or she

answers the phone, you might say, “Hi, John. This is Mary.” If John’s daughter answers, you might say, “Hi, Jessica. This is Mrs. Smith. May I speak with your dad?” For each situation, the appropriate greeting can be constructed. There is no situation where “Hello, it’s me,” is an appropriate greeting! You never know how similar your voice might be to the caller’s ex-spouse or their long-lost cousin Matilda.

So what happens when you answer your phone, but the caller does not identify himself or herself to you? Unfortunately, it is not recommended that you point out their telephone etiquette faux pas, but that you simply ask them to identify themselves. Traditionally accepted ways to do this are “May I ask who is calling?” or “Who is this please?” If the caller is asking for someone else in your household, you can say “May I tell him who is calling?” In the case of children answering the phone when their parents are not at home, they should be instructed to ALWAYS ask for the caller’s name. If the child does not recognize the caller as a close family friend, they should not say that Mom or Dad “isn’t home right now.” Rather, for security reasons, they should be taught to say that Mom or Dad “is not available right now. Can I take a message and have them call you back later.”

Other Considerations at HomeThis module does not intend, by any means, to present every possible element of telephone etiquette. Rather, we want to hit some of the key elements that we think will provide the most benefit. To that end, there are a few miscellaneous items to consider when using your phone at home. First, when placing a call, do not hang up unless the phone has rung at least six times. This allows the person you are calling to have ample time to get from wherever they are in the house to wherever the telephone is. It is frustrating to arrive at the phone just in time to hear the caller hang up! Of course, in today’s age of answering machines, it is unlikely that a phone would ring as many as six times, since most machines are programmed to

pick up after two to four rings, but there are still enough people without answering machines to make this consideration something worth keeping in mind.

The second item on our list of miscellaneous considerations deals with children: Do not let very young children answer the telephone. You may be able to understand your little one’s particular manner of pronunciation, but will a stranger understand? What may be cute to one caller (like grandma or grandpa) can be very frustrating to another. Also, children are often inclined to arbitrarily hang up the phone. This may be a minor inconvenience to your friend next door who is calling to see if they can borrow your shovel, but if Aunt Sylvia is calling from Australia, it can be a source of considerable expense.

The basic rules for using a telephone, apply to all calls, whether at home or at work, but there are some considerations and special cases that apply only to a professional setting. We will examine some of those now.

Answering the Phone at WorkWhen the phone rings at work, make every effort to answer it within two or three rings. The experts agree that after about three rings, the caller is already beginning to feel frustrated with the delay. If there are several different people who could be answering the phone, make sure that they answer it in a courteous and friendly manner. For example, “ Hello! You have reached XYZ Company. This is John Smith speaking. How may I help you?” It is recommended that, unless you are a company focusing on local clientele only, that you avoid greetings like “good morning” or “good afternoon”. Most businesses today are national or even world-wide, making it very difficult to know whether it is morning or afternoon in the time zone

from where your customer is calling. Another fine point that is worth mentioning: the correct question is not “Can I help you?” It is not your ability to help the person that is in question, but rather your willingness to help. “May I help you?” is the appropriate question. Alternatively, the call taker could ask “How may I be of assistance?”.

Placing a Call at WorkThe same rules that apply to placing calls at home apply to placing calls at work, but with a few additions. Identifying yourself right away is still the most important thing to do when placing a call. Not only should you provide your name, but also your company and, possibly your department if appropriate to the call. If the person you are trying to reach does not answer the phone, you might also give a very brief description of why you are calling. When the call is transferred to your contact with that description, they will know what information to have on hand before they pick up the phone. Otherwise, they will just have to put you on hold once more as they gather the necessary information. Review the example below for further clarification.

Mr. Smith: “Hello. This is John Smith from XYZ Company Customer Service. May I please speak with Mrs. Jane Wright? I am calling in reference to the order she placed with us yesterday.”

Operator: “One moment, Mr. Smith. I will connect you.”Mrs. Wright: “Hello? This is Jane Wright.”Mr. Smith: “Hello, Mrs. Wright. This is John Smith from XYZ Company

Customer Service. I am calling in reference to the order that you placed with us yesterday…”

There are cases when you would not announce to a third party the purpose of your call. In cases of personal finances, medical issues or other personal matters, the purpose of your call should be revealed to the target individual only. Care may also need to be taken with how you identify yourself, for instance, if calling someone’s place of business it may be more discrete to omit your company name if you are calling from the HIV Support Center or

the Credit Counseling League. Be sure to always consider your target caller’s desire for confidentiality.

Placing a Caller On HoldIt oftentimes becomes necessary to place a caller on hold. Perhaps the person that they are trying to reach is on another line, perhaps the file that you need to discuss with them is in another room. Before placing a caller on hold, always give them a choice: “Mr. Jones is on his other line at the moment. Would you like to wait on hold , or would you like me to take a message and ask him to call you back when he is finished?” This gives the caller some semblance of control over their fate, rather than just being arbitrarily dumped into the telephone limbo of “being on hold.”

Once a caller has chosen to be placed on hold, do not leave them there indefinitely. Always check back with them every 30 to 45 seconds to let them know that they have not been abandoned: “Mr. Jones is still on the other line, would you like to continue holding?” Each time you return to a caller who is on hold, be sure to thank them for holding: “Mr. Smith, thank you for waiting. Mr. Jones has just finished on his other line. I will transfer you now.”

A discussion on placing calls on hold would not be complete without a discussion of “on hold entertainment”. The caller should be hearing something when they are on hold. The absence of any sounds at all heightens the feeling that they have been forgotten or inadvertently disconnected. If it is within your power, consider subscribing to an instrumental music service such as Musak for this purpose. Alternatively, generate a professional promotional message to be used when callers are placed on hold. At all costs, avoid using a local radio station for your on hold entertainment. The reception of the radio station may vary day to day, resulting in garbled reception or static. Worse yet, your caller may hear an

advertisement for your competitor and decide to hang up and call them, thinking that perhaps their on-hold times will be shorter!

Transferring a CallOften, especially in large corporate environments, it becomes necessary to transfer a caller between two employees of a company. What we want to avoid in this situation is what is called a “blind transfer.” A blind transfer is when a caller is passed from one employee to another with no discussion or introductions. Blind transfers often require the caller, presumably a customer, to repeat their story several times – once to each person within the company that they talk to. Look at this transcript of how a call might proceed if only blind transfers are used:

Receptionist: “Hello. American Binder Supply. This is Susan. How may I help you?”

Caller: “My name is Jesse Williams and I just received my binders, but they are the wrong color! I need them redone, fast.”

Receptionist: “Hold on, please.” <Receptionist transfers cal, but dials the wrong extension.>Employee #1: “Hello, This is John Carpenter.”Caller: “Hello, John. This is Jesse Williams and I just received my

binders, but they are the wrong color! I need them redone. Can you help me?”

Employee #1: “I’m sorry Mr. Williams, but I am not the right person to handle that request. Let me transfer you to the right department. Hold on.”

<John transfers the call>Employee #2: “Hello. This is Tom Sidell.”Caller: “Hello. You are the third person that I’ve talked to! I had

some binders done by your company. I just received them, but they were wrong. Are you the person that can help me fix this or will you send me on to someone else too?”

As you can tell, by this point the caller is very frustrated that he has been passed around and has had to repeat his story each time. Blind transfers can work, but more often than not, they will only succeed in wasting time and frustrating the caller. Rather, consider this transcript of the same call. Instead of blindly transferring the call, the receptionist provides the customer

service agent with the necessary background information for them to coordinate all the information that they need to properly handle the call.

Receptionist: “Hello. American Binder Supply. This is Susan. How may I help you?”

Caller: “My name is Jesse Williams and I just received my binders, but they are the wrong color! I need them redone, fast.”

Receptionist: “I’m sorry to hear there is a problem, Mr. Williams. Our customer service department will be glad to help you right away. Please hold for a few seconds and I will contact our representative for you.”

<Receptionist calls Customer Service, while caller holds..>Receptionist: “Hi, Tom. I have a customer with some worng-color

binders. Will you pull the records for Mr. Jesse Williams and I’ll connect him for you.”

<Receptionist gets both Mr. Williams and Tom on the line simultaneously.>

Receptionist: “Mr. Williams, thank you for being patient. I have Tom Sidell on the line for you. Tom is our binder specialist. Tom, Mr. Williams has some wrong-color binders and I know you’ll be able to get his order straightened out for him.”

This approach takes the receptionist a bit more time, but results in a better-executed call. The customer service representative is prepared to handle the call; and, the transfer does not frustrate the caller. Also, if the receptionist had incorrectly called John Carpenter, as she did the first time, she would have realized her error immediately and could have corrected it without the caller having to experience multiple transfers.[NOTE: The transcript examples in the preceding section were adapted from George Walther’s book “Phone Power”.]

Other Considerations at WorkWhen speaking to callers at work, do not use a speaker phone unless absolutely necessary. First, speaker phones give the caller the impression that you are focusing your attention on something other than the call. Second, they make the caller think that their call is not private. You may be in an open office environment (cubicles) or there may be another party listening without their knowledge. Finally, some speaker phones are VOX-

based, which means that they are voice activated, only transferring the signal to other caller when sound is detected. Often, this means that the first few syllables of each sentence are lost before the phone begins transfering the speaker’s voice across the line. The only reason that speaker phones are needed is when there is a true need for more than one person to be involved in the conversation at your end. Be sure to introduce all of the callers present at the start of the call.

Since most business calls result in the assigning of action items to various parties, another good habit to get into is to review those actions items before the close of the call. Take it upon yourself to take notes during the call. Pay special attention to any action items: who were they assigned to, what is the deliverable, when is it due. Before the close of the call, review that list of items and make sure that all parties (especially those that have been assigned the action items) agree on what needs to happen outside of the call. This can go a long way to avoiding confusion later on.

One last thing to consider when making work related calls - names. You should always start out by using the caller’s last name. As in the example above, the caller was always referred to as “Mr. Williams” not “Jesse” even though he introduced himself as Jesse Williams. There may be a time or situation when switching over to use the caller’s first name would be appropriate, but this largely depends on your experience and relationship with you caller. For example, suppose Tom Sidell was had been the account manager for Mr. William’s business for the past few years and Mr. Williams had already given Tom permission to use his first name. Tom would automatically refer to the caller as Jesse. When in doubt, err on the side of caution and stay with the more formal address.

Now that you know more about basic telephone etiquette, go back and review your answers to the Thinking Exercise at the beginning of this section. Pay special attention to the example you provided of a caller that did not leave you with a good impression, the one that did not “come across” well.

Thinking Exercise – Part 2

Thinking back to your example of the caller that did not “come across” well, using what you have learned of basic telephone etiquette in this section, suggest some specific improvement that the caller could have made to improve your impression of their telephone abilities.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Using what you have just learned in the previous section of the module, first, try to answer the following questions without referring back to the text. If your memory fails you, go ahead and look for the answers!

Multiple ChoiceSelect the best answer for each item and write it in the space provided before the question number. There is only one correct response per item.

_______ Select the one reason where it is acceptable to use a speaker phone when placing a business call.

a. It is more comfortable that holding the receiver to your ear.b. You are doing something else while on the telephone.c. You have a need for more than one participant on your end of

the call.d. You want someone else to hear the call who is not an active

participant.

True/FalseCircle the appropriate response, true or false, for each statement.TRUE / FALSE 1. It is considered proper telephone etiquette to let a

phone ring six or more times before hanging up.TRUE / FALSE 2. When placing a caller on hold, you should check

back with them every 30-45 seconds.TRUE / FALSE 3. It is recommended that each person within a

company develop their own, unique way to answer the phone in order to keep the callers from getting bored.

Fill-inA _____________________ is when a caller is transferred to a new extension without confirmation of whether that person will be able to help them, or even if they are available to take the transferred call.


Multiple Choicec. You have a need for more than one participant on your end of the call.This is the only acceptable reason for using a speaker phone. The other items may make the caller feel that you are not focused on the call or that their call is not private.

True/False1. TRUE

Letting the phone ring at least six times allows the person you are calling adequate time to reach the telephone.

2. TRUEPeriodically checking back with a caller on hold lets them know that they have not been forgotten. The generally accepted time for this is 30-45 seconds.

3. FALSEFor corporate identity, it is important that each caller answer the phone in a consistent, company-established manner. For instance, “Hello, this is XYZ Company. How may I help you?”

Fill-inBlind Transfer

How did you do? If your answers do not match the ones given here, go back and review this section of the module again. Once you are ready, turn the page and we’ll move on to the next topic: Telephone Messages.

Telephone Messages

Early on in this module, you learned that less than one out of every three calls is actually completed on this first try. Now, of those that are completed, how many actually reached the target caller? Regardless of the answers, it means that we are leaving a lot of telephone messages! The best way to save time and increase our efficiency is to make sure that we are leaving (or taking!) informative, well thought out messages. The most important aspect of any message is to make sure that we leave all of the necessary information. Whether we are leaving a message on an answering machine, leaving a message with a person, or recording a message from one person for another affects what kind of information we need.

Leaving a Message on an Answering MachineThe most common way that telephone messages are communicated is on an answering machine or voice mail. These are simply automated voice recorders. They do not prompt us for the right information to leave, so it is up to us to know what information is important. Someone once said that voice mail is for “communication, not conversation.” The emphasis here is to be complete, but concise. No one enjoys listening to a voice mail message that is ten minutes long! By the same token, the archetypical bad message, “Hi! It’s me. Call me if you get this in the next fifteen minutes.” does not help the recipient much either.

There are six pieces of information that should be left on any answering machine or voice mail message:

1. Your name,2. Your company name (if it is a business-related call),3. Your phone number,4. The current date and time,

5. A recommended call back time, and6. The reason for your call.

Let’s go over each of these in a little more detail.Your NameThis may seem rather basic, but be sure to leave your name on any message, regardless of how positive you are that they will recognize your voice. If you have an unusual last name, it will be appreciated by the message recipient if you spell your name and maybe even suggest a phonetic spelling to ease in their pronunciation of your name when they call you back.Your Company NameObviously, this only applies if you are calling on behalf of your business. As with your name, if the company name is complicated or difficult to pronounce, you may consider offering the spelling or a pronunciation aid. If applicable, you also may want to include the department that you work for: customer service, bill collections, etc. to give the message recipient a better idea of why you are calling.Your Phone NumberTry to give more than one phone number, if possible. If you can give an office number and a mobile phone or pager, the person has a better chance of actually being able to reach you in person (instead of your voice mail) when they call back. Also, be sure to include the area code, if necessary, and speak slowly – they will probably have to write the number down before actually dialing it.The Current Date and TimeSome electronic voice mail services have built in time stamps, but you cannot be sure that the time and date are set correctly, so be sure to always leave the date and time. Give the full date, “Monday, May 11 th”, rather than just saying “Monday”. If the person you are calling is on vacation for a few weeks, they will need to know which Monday it was that you called on. When leaving the time, be sure to indicate morning or evening, as well as

the time zone if you are not sure if the person you are calling is in your same zone. Leaving the current date and time is especially important if you are leaving a time-relative message, such as “call me if you get this within the next fifteen minutes.” In that case, it would actually be better to leave the current time, and then ask them to call you by a certain time, that happens to be fifteen minutes in the future. It eliminates any possible confusion. For example: “It is now 2:45PM on Monday, May 11th. Please call me if you get this message before three o’clock this afternoon.”Recommended Call Back TimeAnother very helpful piece of information that is often overlooked is a call back time. A call back time is a time that you leave on your message when you know, without a doubt, you will be available at the telephone number you provided to take their return call. It does not guarantee that they will return your call at that time, but it gives them an idea of your availability. When you give a call back time, make sure that you will be available at the time! Think of it as a scheduled meeting. You will lose credibility (and therefore adversely affecting your third benefit of phone skills – improved public image) if you are not available at the time you said that you would be.Reason for the CallFinally, we get to the meat of the message – why are you calling this person, anyway? Be brief and concise. Don’t waste time on a dissertation, that much detail can wait until you are able to speak with them in person. Leave enough information so that they will know why you called and will be able to have any necessary reference materials on-hand to be prepared when they call you back.

Leaving a Message with a PersonLeaving a message with a person is very similar to leaving one on a machine. All of the same information should be provided, keeping in mind, however, that you are at the mercy of the person taking the message. They might not record everything that you say, but do your best to get across the

importance of each piece of information that you provide. The only item that you need not explicitly provide is the date and time of your call. Most experienced message takers will note down that information themselves, but if you are concerned that they might not, there is no harm in saying, “Could you please make a note of the fact that I am calling around 3PM?” Alternatively, you can jot down in your own notes the time that you left a message.

Recording a Message From a Person for AnotherThere are two general areas of information that should be gathered when taking a message for another person. The first area deals with gathering basic facts. This means prompting the caller for each of the six pieces of information previously described. Be polite in your prompting so as not to appear nosey. For instance, ask “May I tell him the purpose of your call?” rather than “Why do you want to talk to him?”.

The second area of information is gathering the deeper, and in some cases, more important information dealing with insight and impressions. There are three specific details that should be recorded:

1. The caller’s emotions,2. Any promises that were made, and 3. Your general impressions.

Caller’s EmotionsIf you receive a message indicating that a customer is calling about a warranty claim, is this enough information? In a case such as this, it would be very helpful to know before you call the customer back what kind of mood they were in when they called. Were they friendly, irritated, frustrated, or downright irate? Knowing this ahead of time can help you to prepare a strategy for handling the call while you have the benefit of unlimited

preparation time, rather than having to come up with an approach to an irate caller when they are already yelling at you.Promises That Were MadeSome secretaries or message-takers are in the general habit of saying something along the lines of “I will have him call you back as soon as he is out of his meeting.” If that is not communicated to the message recipient, how are they supposed to know that the caller is expecting to hear from them within the next few hours after the message was recorded? Any broken promise, regardless of whether you made the promise or someone else made it on your behalf, can greatly tarnish that public image that you are working so hard to improve. Be sure that all promises are clearly recorded.General ImpressionsYou can pick up a lot of a person’s personality just by their tone of voice. Often, it is possible to tell if a person is chatty, sincere, or “straight to the point.” Just as the emotions of the caller are important to developing a response strategy, so are these general impressions. If a person is a “straight to the point” type, the call back shouldn’t be started by chatting about the weather or the latest football scores. Every piece of information has the potential to be helpful. When in doubt, write it down!

Thinking Exercise

Have you ever received a message like the archetypical bad message that was presented in this section of the module (“Hi. It’s me. Call me if you get this within the next fifteen minutes”)? Write down an example of a message that you received that was incomplete or did not make sense._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rewrite the message above, turning it into an informative message, using the information you have just learned from this module._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




_______ Given that it is a business-related call, which one of the following message items should be specifically provided on an answering machine message, but is not needed when leaving a message with a person?

a. Call back timeb. Company namec. Current date and timed. Reason for the call

MatchingColumn A lists the various types of information that may be collected or provided when leaving or taking a message. Column B lists the different circumstances of messages. Match Column B to Column A. The items in Column B will be used more than once, and Column A may have more than one correct response. All possible correct responses should be listed.

COLUMN A COLUMN B1. Call back time A. Leaving a message with a person2. Company name B. Leaving an answering machine

message3. Current date C. Taking a message4. Current time5. Emotions6. General impressions7. Name8. Phone number9. Promises made10. Reason for the call


Multiple Choicec. Current date and timeIt is assumed that if a person is taking the message, that they will note the current date and time. There is no guarantee that an answering machine will have a date/time stamp or if it does have one, that it will be set to the correct date and time. All other items should be provided in the message regardless of whether it is left with a person or on an answering machine.

Matching1. A, B, C2. A, B, C3. B, C4. B, C5. C6. C7. A, B, C8. A, B, C9. C10. A, B, C

How did you do? If your answers do not match the ones given here, go back and review this section of the module again. Once you are ready, turn the page and we’ll move on to the next topic: Preparing for an Important Telephone Call.

Preparing for an Important Telephone Call

This section of the module is devoted entirely to describing one way to improve efficiency on the phone. The planning of telephone calls is often skipped because of the false notion that it will take too much time. Nothing can be further from the truth! The fact is that by planning our important phone calls, we ultimately save time. We can make sure that all the critical items are covered during the call without wasting our time or that of the person that we are calling. If we respect the time of the people we call as if it were our own, it will greatly improve their overall impression of us as a reliable and “on the ball” person.

There are four main elements to call planning, and each element is really quite simple:

1. Complete a “Call Planning and Objectives Form” or other similar tool,

2. Have all reference materials available,3. Be prepared to take notes during the call, and 4. Make the call as scheduled.

Call Planning and Objectives FormIt is an interesting phenomenon that we prepare thoroughly for a meeting or interview, but feel that we can just “wing it” when it comes to telephone calls. In today’s world, we conduct more business by phone than we do in person. Whether it is when we call our bank to settle an inquiry we have on our latest statement, or a full-blown conference call for our jobs, those critical calls should be treated just like a meeting, with a scheduled time, an agenda, and thorough preparation.

The Call Planning and Objectives Form (or CPOF) is a tool used to plan your key calls to make sure that you cover all the items that you want to discuss. It is most useful for calls that you expect to take some considerable time (30 minutes or more) where there are multiple objectives to be discussed. A blank CPOF is included on the next page. Be sure to keep it handy – it makes a great original for photocopying!

Call Planning and Objectives FormAdapted from George R. Walther’s “Phone Power”

Caller:______________________________

Calling:_____________________________

Company:__________________________

Number: (____)______________________

Time Zone:_________________________

Estimated Time Needed (Minutes):__

Date TimeFirst Call

Scheduled Call Back

Actual Call BackScheduled 2nd Call

BackActual 2nd Call Back

Achieved?Primary Objective:_______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Second Objective:_______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Third Objective:_________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bare Minimum:__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Key Questions to Ask:___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Follow-up Action_________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The first step in using the CPOF is to complete the first section (upper left corner) by recording the key caller information. This will be a record of your call, as well as a reference for follow-up and future calls, so be as accurate as possible.

Second, estimate how much time you expect to need for the call. The estimate does not have to be exact. As you get more experienced with this technique, your estimates will become more accurate. For now, make sure that you err on the conservative side. You will be scheduling this call as if it were a meeting so you want to make sure that you will have enough time in your schedule to cover all of your objectives. Over-estimate the total amount of time you think you will need if you are not sure.

The third step will take the longest amount of time– list the key objectives for the call. Make sure you think through what you really want to cover during the call. Each of these objectives should be taking you closer to some long-range goal. Ask yourself, what is the absolute minimum that you want to accomplish during this call. That is your “Bare Minimum” – that is what you will be satisfied to accomplish, even if you cannot get resolution to your top few objectives. The goal here is to make sure that at the very least, the call will still take you one step closer to that long-range goal. If you have some specific questions that you know you want to ask, jot those down in the “Key questions” section.

Lastly, schedule the call. Use whatever tool you would normally use to schedule a meeting – your planner, your PDA, your secretary, whatever. Use the time estimate that you made in the second step to schedule to duration of the call.

Reference MaterialsMake sure that you have all the necessary reference materials close at hand before you place the call. Records of past conversations, pertinent files, documents or e-mails should all be readily accessible. You know when you will be making this call, so don’t waste valuable time during the call trying to gather reference information. Like the boy scouts, the idea here is to BE PREPARED!

Taking NotesLike in any other important meeting, be ready to take notes and record your and the other parties’ commitments. You can use the CPOF for some general notes, but have extra pages available that can be attached to the CPOF in case you run out of room. There is a space of the CPOF to record follow-up actions. This is the perfect place to jot down action items as they are assigned during the call. Remember, this will be a record of your phone call – your meeting – so be sure that your notes are accurate and legible. Write your notes so that you, or anyone else, could pick them up six months later and be able to understand what was covered and accomplished during the call.

Make the Call as ScheduledBe true to yourself! If you scheduled the call for 3PM on Wednesday, make the call at 3PM on Wednesday! This is like any other important meeting – it should not be postponed unless there is a very, very good reason. Sticking to the schedule is especially important if you don’t make contact with your target individual the first time you call. Maybe they don’t have enough time to discuss the entire agenda (Remember – you know approximately how long the call will take. Let them know when you call about how much of their time you expect to need.) or perhaps they just weren’t in their office at all. When you leave your message, schedule the next call back and record it in the table on the CPOF. Keep track of when calls were scheduled and when they

actually took place. If you make you calls when you schedule them, you will gain esteem with yourself and the person you are calling, for making a commitment and sticking to it.




_______ All of these are steps in preparing for a telephone call EXCEPT:a. Clear your schedule for at least one hourb. Complete a “Call Planning and Objectives Form”c. Have all reference materials availabled. Make the call at the scheduled time

EssayGiven the following scenario, complete the Call Planning and Objectives Form, found on the following page, as you would if you were preparing to make the telephone call.

SCENARIO

You are Mr. John Smith, Quality Engineer for the XYZ Manufacturing Company, located in Louisville, Kentucky.. One of your suppliers is Widget Central, Inc., located in Sunnyvale, California. Their parts are used in the assembly line, and until recently, have been running without any problems.

Two days ago, you began to notice high line fallout because the Widget Central part appeared to be out of specification. On the rejected Widget parts, the screw holes on their part were not lining up properly with the holes on the main body of the assembly, so the two pieces could not be screwed together.

The designated contact person for quality issues at Widget Central is Jason Smart. His direct line phone number is (123) 456-7890. You tried calling him once already on June 3rd around 11:00 AM, Pacific Time (2:00 PM Eastern Time), but he was not in his office. You left him a message saying that you would try calling him back again today, June 4th, at 8:30 AM his time, or about 11:30 AM Eastern Time.

Right now, your most important question is to find out when Widget Central will ship you some new parts that meet the specification. If Mr. Smart cannot tell you this right away, at the very least, you need to know when he will be able to give you the date of that shipment. Another item that you need to address is finding out exactly what happened at Widget Central that allowed these out of specification parts to be shipped in the first place. Have their machines been on a good maintenance schedule? Are their measurement tools properly calibrated? Something must have happened in their factory to explain why these parts are not right! Lastly, you need to know where to send the defective material that is currently sitting on the factory floor at XYZ. Your best estimate, at this point, is that it should take about 45 minutes on the phone with Mr. Smart to address all of these issues.



Caller:______________________________

Calling:_____________________________

Company:__________________________

Number: (____)______________________

Time Zone:_________________________

Estimated Time Needed (Minutes):__

Date TimeFirst Call

Scheduled Call Back



Achieved?Primary Objective:_______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Second Objective:_______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Third Objective:_________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bare Minimum:__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Key Questions to Ask:___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Follow-up Action_________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Multiple Choicea. Clear your schedule for at least one hourJust because a call is important and warrants preparation does not mean that one hour will be required to complete the call. Clearing your schedule may be appropriate, but it should be cleared for whatever time is necessary to accomplish the call objective.

EssaySee the following page for the completed Call Planning and Objectives Form

How did you do? If your answers do not match the ones given here, go back and review this section of the module again. Once you are ready, turn the page and we’ll move on to the next topic: Minimizing “Telephone Tag”.


Caller: John Smith ___________________

Calling: Jason Smart ________________

Company: Widget Central, Inc. ______

Number: (_123_) 456-7890 __________

Time Zone: Pacific __________________

Estimated Time Needed (Minutes): 45 __________________________________

Date

Time

First Call 6/3 2:00PScheduled Call Back 6/4

11:30A



Achieved?Primary Objective: Find out when Widget Central will ship new parts that meet specification. ______________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

Second Objective: Find out what happened at Widget Central that allowed the out of ____________________________________________________ specification parts to be shipped. __________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

Third Objective: Find out where to send the defective material currently in our factory. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bare Minimum: If cannot achieve Primary Objective, find out when Mr. Smart will be _________________________________________________________ able to give a delivery date for the new parts. ______________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________

Key Questions to Ask: Have the machines at Widget Central been on a good ________________________________________________________________ maintenance schedule? Are their measurement tools properly calibrated? _ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Follow-up Action_____________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Minimizing “Telephone Tag”

Telephone tag is the phone users worst enemy. It is probably the biggest time thief associated with phone use. “Telephone tag” is the term applied to the seemingly endless string of messages back-and-forth between two people who are trying to reach one another by phone, but repeatedly do not find the other person available when they call. While the likelihood of being able to completely eliminate telephone tag is rather slim, there are a few simple techniques that can be applied to help minimize the amount of time that you spend playing the game.

Before we talk about some specific techniques, we need to review the two Golden Rules to Minimizing Telephone Tag.

Golden Rule #1: Return calls as you would like your calls returned to you.

Golden Rule #2: Make sure that every call consciously takes you one step closer to the desired long-range goal.

Probably the most important thing to remember about these Golden Rules (other than the Rules themselves, of course!) is that they must be applied consistently for them to be effectual. It only takes one slip up to for someone to lose faith in you. By always returning calls promptly and taking personal responsibility for each call that you make, you are moving closer to realizing the three benefits of improved telephone skills.

Golden Rule #1We touched on this rule briefly in the previous section. When you schedule a call, whether you schedule it with only yourself or with another person as well, keep that scheduled time. Even for those smaller, less critical calls, when you receive a message that someone called you, return that call as soon as possible. Prompt return of all calls presents the image that you are a reliable, conscience and professional individual.

Golden Rule #2This rule is a bit more complicated, but it was touched on in the last section as well. Telephone tag will always be around; we have no control over whether or not someone will be in their office when we call them. What is in our control however, is what we do with our time each instance that we pick up that telephone. It is our responsibility to take the personal action required to make sure that each call, whether we reach our intended target caller or not, takes us one step further to our ultimate goal. Now, let’s talk about what we can do to actually make that happen…

There are several basic tools that are at our disposal to help us minimize telephone tag. These are things that we may use every day, but never thought to apply them to reduce the number of “turns” we have to take in the phone tag game. Try some of these the next time the person you try to reach is not available.

If you are dumped into someone’s voice mail, listen carefully to the message. Often, those systems allow you to press zero to get to the switchboard operator. Once you have a live person,

o Ask if your party can be paged.o Ask if your party has an alternate phone number, like a

pager or cell phone, where they can be reached.

o Ask if your party is in the office today or if they are on a trip or on vacation. At times, this can be valuable information on its own.

o Ask if there is someone else that can help you with your request.

o Ask to speak with your party’s manager – they may be able to identify another person who can help you.

If you have a simple question, ask it on voice mail and request that your party leave their answer on your voice mail. This can circumvent a lot of time wasted when all you need is a simple answer to one or two questions.

If you need to provide a status update, and immediate feedback is not required, try sending a fax or e-mail. These methods can also be used if you have one or two simple questions, as described in the previous point.

There are times, however, when some of the basic tactics described above will simply not get you the answer that you need in the time that you need it. In that case, it may be time to implement the “Time Bomb Technique.”

Time Bomb TechniqueThe Time Bomb Technique is not nearly so drastic as its name implies. This technique only works in rather specific cases. There must be a simple question that can be left on voice mail or in a message. The caller is instructed that you will take a certain action unless you hear from them otherwise within a given period of time. The time bomb, in the case, is the deadline by which you must receive an answer to your question. A time bomb message may look something like this:

Secretary: “Hello. John Carpenter’s office. This is his assistant, Julie. How may I help you?”

Tom: “Hi, Julie. This is Tom. Could you please tell John that we are going to file the Annual Plan in its current form on Friday unless I hear from him by noon on Thursday. Please be sure he understands that we will proceed as agreed, unless he calls to make a change.”

As with all bombs, there are some precautions that you should take before scattering time bombs of this type around your office. First, make sure that you allow a reasonable amount of time for a response. It would be unreasonable, for the example above, to expect an answer within 30 minutes. Second, make sure that the person for whom you left the message is available. If they are on vacation, then it is unreasonable to assume that they will (1) get your message and (2) be able to respond to it, one way or the other, by the given deadline.

Thinking Exercise

Describe a recent game of telephone tag in which you were a participant. Who were you trying to reach or who was trying to reach you? What was the topic of the conversation?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Knowing what you know now, describe in detail the tactics or techniques that you could have applied to the game of telephone tag that you described above, that might have ended the game faster.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




_______1. All of these are techniques or skills that can be implemented to minimize phone tag EXCEPT:a. Implementing proper telephone etiquetteb. Requesting your party be pagedc. Scheduling callsd. “Time Bomb” Technique

_______2. The following items are all part of the “Time Bomb Technique” EXCEPT:a. asking a brief questionb. giving a deadline for a responsec. leaving a messaged. telling the callee that action has already been taken

True/FalseCircle the appropriate response, true or false, for each statement.TRUE / FALSE 1. When using the “Time Bomb Technique” it is

important to develop rapport with the person that you are calling.

TRUE / FALSE 2. When your target caller cannot be reached, you can minimize telephone tag by providing a specific call back time in the message.

Fill-in1. _____________________ is the term applied to the seemingly

endless string of messages back-and-forth between two people

who are trying to reach one another by phone, but repeatedly do not find the other person available when they call.

2. List the two “Golden Rules to Ending Phone Tag”.

1. ______________________________________________________________

2._______________________________________________________________



Multiple Choicea. Implementing proper telephone etiquetteUsing proper telephone etiquette is an important skill in telephone use, but it does not affect the frequency of telephone tag.d. telling the callee that action has already been takenIn the “Time Bomb Technique” the callee is told that action will be taken if they do not respond in a given period of time.

True/False1. FALSE

Developing rapport is part of the “Power Talking Technique” (that we will learn in the next section) not the “Time Bomb Technique”.

2. TRUEOne of the ways to minimize telephone tag is to schedule calls and call backs as if they were meetings. This increases the likelihood that your target caller will be available, since they know at exactly what time to expect your call.

Fill-in1. Telephone Tag2. Return your calls as you would like calls returned to you.

Make sure that every call consciously takes you one step closer to the desired long-range goal.

How did you do? If your answers do not match the ones given here, go back and review this section of the module again. Once you are ready, turn the page and we’ll move on to the next topic: Power Talking.

Power Talking

Power Talking is a technique developed by George R. Walther and described in his book, “Phone Power.” This technique is rooted in science, specifically in psychology. Psychologists at UCLA have quantitatively determined how feelings and emotions are communicated. The breakdown fell out like this:

7% from the actual words spoken,38% from how the words were spoken (volume, tone, etc;), and 55% from non-verbal body language.

So what does this tell you? This data is the foundation for the premise of Power Talking: how we say something is more important than what we are actually saying.

Mr. Walter uses the following example in his book to illustrate this point:

“An irate customer barges into the customer service department. Carl Portnoy looks up from his untidy desk. He sees the angry man and leans back in his chair, arms crossed. Tilting back, Carl puts one foot up on a pulled-out drawer. His gaze shifts to the clock on his desk and he takes on a pained expression. In a loud, hurried, but completely monotone drone, he says: ‘Tell me all about it. I’ll see what I can do.’

“An irate customer barges into the customer service department. Carl Protnoy looks up from his tidy desk. Seeing the unhappy man, Carl stands and approaches him. Extending a hand, he directs the customer toward a comfortable chair and sits beside him. Carl reaches for a clean pad of paper and pen. He leans slightly toward the customer, makes a strong visual connection and smiles. His reassuring, sympathetic facial expression conveys a sense of, ‘It’s all right. I’ll listen and help.’ In a forthright

voice, Carl says, ‘Tell me all about it. (slight pause) I’ll see what I can do.’

“Same words. Totally different message.”

There are seven elements to the technique of Power Talking. We will discuss each one individually.

1. Voice variables2. Developing rapport,3. Body language,4. Voice tone,5. Positive word choices,6. Brevity, and7. Honesty

Voice VariablesLet’s be stereotypical for a moment. Think of how someone speaks if they are from Bronx, New York. What about someone from the Deep South? What makes each of us sound the way we do are our voice variables. The harsh reality of the world is that stereotypes do exist. It is human nature to put a lot of weight on our so-called “first impressions” that are formed during that first crucial contact that we have with a person. More often than not, that first contact occurs over the telephone, making our speaking voice a big part of how we are perceived by others.

You may think that how we speak is out of our control, that it is a result of culture and up bringing. That is only partially true. It is true in the

sense that culture and up bringing may shape the way we speak to start with, but it is always within our power to train ourselves otherwise, should we so desire. It could be as simple as expanding our vocabulary, or as involved as hiring a voice coach. Either way, how we speak is as much in our control as how we dress.

Developing RapportDeveloping rapport with the person you are talking to is all about getting “on the same wavelength.” The idea here is to make sure that the other person sees your desire to understand their perspective. There are a few basic tactics that can be helpful in developing rapport:

Use the person’s name during the conversation. Make reference to experiences or backgrounds that you may

have in common. Ask questions about the other person’s viewpoint. This

demonstrates that you have a true interest in why they feel the way they do, rather than being interested only in how you feel yourself.

Emphasize that you share a common goal – to reach a conclusion that is to the benefit and satisfaction of both parties.

When rapport has been established, there can be open, honest communication between two parties.

Be subtle. Try to match your style of speaking to that of the other person. If they speak softly, match the volume of your voice to theirs. The same goes for your rate of speech: If they speak at a slow, steady pace, slow down your normally 200 word per minute rate of speech. Try to match their diction as well. Diction involves word choice and enunciation. If the person you are speaking with is expressive and uses an expanded vocabulary, then do the same. The idea is not

necessarily to become best friends, but it is important to become trusted allies.

Body Language“But,” you say, “I’m on the phone! No one can see my body language.” True, but not entirely. Next time you are on the phone with someone, try to picture his or her face. You can tell by their voice whether or not they are smiling. It is true – you can actually hear a smile. Pay attention to your body language the next time you are on the phone. How are you sitting? What expression is on your face? Consider putting up a mirror nearby so that you can monitor your body. You will find that as you change your posture to be more open, your voice will change to be more receptive as well.

Voice ToneTone is a difficult variable to describe. Most people use the word “tone” to describe the sum of volume, rate of speech, inflection, word choice, and body language. Your tone consciously or unconsciously changes depending on your audience. The tone of voice you use with your children is different from the one you use in the board room, which is different from the one you use with your buddies on the softball field. Be sure to monitor your tone of voice so that it is appropriate for the person to whom you are currently speaking.

Positive Word ChoicesLet’s review another example from Mr. Walther’s “Phone Power” book. A customer asked two people the same question. Which person would you want working on your account, if you were the customer?

“Cheryl: ‘Let’s see. I’m not really too sure about that. I guess I’ll have to go track this down in another department. I’ll try to call you late. Uh, when would be a good time?’

“Charlene: ‘I don’t have an immediate answer to that question. I’ll be glad to verify your payment with Accounting. I will reach you this afternoon. Is one-thirty convenient, or do you prefer four o’clock?’”

There was a definite difference between the two responses, even though neither one had the answer immediately available. Charlene’s response promised action, but Cheryl’s left you wondering what was going to happen next. It’s all about positive word choices.

There are two main benefits to using positive word choices. First, statements written in the positive are more easily understood. It has been quantitatively proven that, on average, people will understand a positive statement more quickly than they will a negative statement. Second, statements made with positive word choices portray the speaker in a positive light. Take the Cheryl/Charlene example as a guide. Charlene already appears to be the kind of person that “gets things done.”

Next time you are on the phone, pay attention to what you say and the words you use. Get rid of qualifying phrases, like the ones listed below:

“I’ll try…” “I will have to…” “I’ll be honest with you…” “I would think…” “I was going to say…” “I would hate to…” “I am only the…”

Each of these statements weakens what follows. Don’t say, “I will try to get you that information.” Say, “I will get you that information.” Speak as though you expect to get results and you will get them.

BrevityThis element is all about being concise. Get to the point of your message, say it once, and move on.

HonestyHow often have you heard one of these phrases: “She’s in a meeting,” or “He just stepped away from his desk.” How often, when you hear these phrases, do you actually believe them? Whether or not they are true, these phrases and many others like them have become so over-used as convenient excuses that the should be avoided at all costs. So, what happens when she really is in a meeting? Then, be honest and provide some supporting details. “She’s in a meeting” becomes “She’s in a conference with another manager at the moment, but I expect the meeting to wrap up in the next thirty minutes or so. Let me have your name and number and I will be sure to give her the message as soon as she is back at her desk.”

The entire technique of Power Talking is made up of using each of the seven elements in concert. That is not to say, however, that one’s telephone skills couldn’t be improved by adopting just one or two elements to begin with. Choose one or two of the elements to focus on. Once you have those integrated into your daily telephone routine, go after the next two, and so on. Faster than you know it, you’ll be Power Talking!

Thinking Exercise

Select the one elements of Power Talking that you think would most improve your phone presence. Describe how you plan to incorporate this new technique into your repertoire of telephone skills.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Using what you have just learned in the previous section of the module, first, try to answer the following question without referring back to the text. If your memory fails you, go ahead and look for the answers!

List and explain the seven elements of the “Power Talking” technique.1. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Voice variables – Voice variables describe how we speak. People often form their opinion of someone based on how they sounds on the phone, so it is important to make a good first impressions

Developing rapport – Developing a good rapport with the caller makes them feel that we are on the same wavelength and that we understand where they are coming from. It paves the way for future discussions during the call.

Body language – Even though the callers cannot see us on the phone, our posture and body language will come across in the way we speak. We must look an act interested and engaged if we want to sound that way.

Voice tone – This is the emotional quality of our voice – the sum of speech rate, volume, inflection, word choice and body language.

Positive word choices – Positive statements are more easily understood than negative ones. In addition, positive word choices (“I will” versus “I will try”) demonstrate a personality that is more apt to get things done.

Brevity – Be concise and get to the point.Honesty – The caller should never feel that they are being lied to.

Statements should be precise – specifically explaining the situation at hand.

How did you do? If your answers do not match the ones given here, go back and review this section of the module again. Once you are ready, turn the page and we’ll wrap-up the module.

Wrap-Up

Congratulations!! You have just about completed this module on telephone skills. We’ve covered everything from basic etiquette to some relatively complex telephone techniques. There is just one last thing to do – the Final Exam! Don’t worry! It’s open book. Feel free to use the entire module to answer the questions.

When you’re ready, turn the page! Good luck!

Final Exam

Using what you have learned in the entire module, answer the following questions We’ve covered a lot of information, so if you need to use the module to help you with your answers.

MatchingColumn C lists the definitions of various terms included in the module. Column B lists various terms provided in the module. Match Column D to Column C by choosing the BEST match of each definition to a term. The items in Column D will be used only once, and Column C will have only one correct response per item.

COLUMN C COLUMN D1. A tool used in telephone conversation that de-emphasizes what we say over how we say it.

A. Call Planning & Objectives FormB. Diction C. Positive Word Choices

2. A tool used in which a message is left for an individual that states a specific action will be taken if the individual does not response within a given time frame.

D. Power TalkingE. Telephone TagF. Time Bomb Technique

3. An element of day-to-day phone life in which the target caller is habitually unavailable, resulting in a string of messages being left with no productive work being accomplished.4. A tool used to increase efficiency during our telephone calls.

EssayBelow is a phone transcript, taken from George Walther’s “Phone Power” book, of a call that actually occurred. The caller, Julie, is Mr.

Walther’s wife. Review the transcript, and then identify five instances where the bank representatives did not use the telephone skills that were described through out this module. There are quite a number of instances throughout the call, and there may be some mistakes that are repeated more than once. Identify five different errors, and provide suggestions on what the speaker should have done if they were using the skills that you learned in this module.

Julie: “Hello. I’m calling because I just got turned down for a car loan, and the dealer said that my credit report shows a delinquent Visa record.”

First Clerk: “Oh, you want the credit department. Hang on.”<One minute and forty-six seconds later....>Second Clerk: “Credit, please hold.” <A few seconds later.>

“Yes?”Julie: “Hello. I want to find out why my credit report shows a

delinquent Visa record. I’ve been paying on time every month for three…”

Second Clerk: “You’ll have to talk to the main office. The number is 818-555-7679.”

Julie: “But that’s long distance. Isn’t there some way you can help me? You’re my branch.”

Second Clerk: “Sorry. You’ll have to call Pasendena.”<Julie calls headquarters.>Julie: “Hello. I’m calling because I got turned down for a car

loan, and the dealer said that my credit report shows a delinquent Visa record.”

Third Clerk: “Just a minute. I’ll get the credit department for you.”

Fourth Clerk: “Processing. This is Judy. I’ll be right with you.” <Six minutes pass. The music-on-hold is a bit too loud and Julie really doesn’t feel like hearing “Rock Me, Baby”!> “Hello, can I help you?”

Julie: “I sure hope so. I’ve been transferred all over. My Visa record has a mistake. I pay at my branch every month, and…”

Fourth Clerk: “David handles all payment records. He’s at lunch, but I’ll give him the message.”

Julie: “Please tell him to call me this afternoon at 213-555-1327. This afternoon, for sure, okay?”

Fourth Clerk: “Sure.”<Julie waits, but no call. Next morning…>Julie: “David was supposed to call me yesterday because

there’s a mistake on my credit record.”Fifth Clerk: “David’s in a meeting right now. Can you call back

after lunch?”

Julie: “Again? I keep calling you long-distance and I just want to get my Visa records straight. I have all the payment receipts from my branch.”

Fifth Clerk: “Oh, if you make your payments locally, you really should be calling the branch directly.”

Julie: “But they told me to call you!”Fifth Clerk: “Oh. Well, maybe you should call whatever credit

agency reported the account as delinquent.”Julie: “I have! They said to call my bank!”

Error #1_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Suggested Correction:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




Error #5________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________Suggested Correction:___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Final Exam (Answers)

Matching1. D2. F3. E4. A

Essay

Every effort was made to list all of the error that were made during the call; however, given the horrendous nature of this particular phone call, there may be errors that you identify that are not listed here. That does not necessarily mean that you answer is incorrect. Use your judgment and the module as a guide.Error #1: Julie was never given a choice if she wanted to be placed on hold.Suggested Correction: The Clerks could have asked her if she wanted to wait or if someone from the approproate department should call her back.

Error #2: She was on hold WAY too long without any contact.Suggested Correction: The Clerks should have checked back with her every 30-45 seconds.

Error #3: Julie was repeated transferred blind.Suggested Correction: The Clerks should have done the necessary introductions between Julie and the party she was being transferred to.

Error #4: On-hold music was loud.Suggested Correction: The on-hold entertainment should have been of an appropriate volume, and preferable music only. Alternatively, there could have been a message extolling the virtues of banking with this particular establishment (of which there may not be any from what we can tell!)

Error #5: Clerks did not answer the phone in a consistent manner, even though they all work for the same bank.Suggested Correction: Clerks should be trained to answer with a uniform greeting.

Error #6: The Fourth Clerk made a promise that David would call back that afternoon, but he did not.Suggested Correction: The Clerk should have communicated to David that she had promised the call would be returned by a certain time.

Error #7: The Fifth Clerk used one of those trite expressions that do not sound true: “David is in a meeting.”Suggested Correction: She should have provided more information to make sure that Julie did not feel like she was being put off.

Error #8: None of the Clerks attempted to develop a rapport with Julie.Suggested Correction: Especially for the Fourth Clerk (Julie’s comment of “I hope so,” implies some frustration. Had they developed some rapport, Julie would have been less likely to get as frustrated as she did by the end of the transfers.

How did you do? If your answers do not match the ones given here, go back and review the appropriate section of the module again.

Congratulations!! You have completed the module on Telephone Skills!!

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