Effective Techniques For Proper Business Telephone Etiquette

Although instant messaging and email have become a standard form of office communication, the telephone still plays a vital role in the industry. Telephone calls should follow certain rules of etiquette to help make the experience a productive and pleasant one for the people involved.


Presenting a professional image to your caller is of utmost importance inside the office. Making your customers well-informed makes them feel taken care of by the entire organization. The following tips will help establish better communication with your clientele.

Being Prepared

Preparation is necessary when taking calls. You have to be mentally and physically prepared at work so you can listen and communicate more effectively.

It is important that you have a strong start to better establish a rapport with the caller. Greeting in an impressive tone can help put you to a good start and can make things right all throughout the conversation.

Techniques may be used to build a better rapport with callers. Read on several techniques and apply them at work each day.

Effective Techniques to Use

On hold techniques are available to maintain a polite conversation with clients. One of the commonly used sentences in the office today is, “May I put you on hold?”

When transferring calls, it is important that you inform the caller of what you are about to do. Remember to tell the caller where you are going to transfer or redirect the call.

How to Speak

There are certain tips that help achieve better communication. Here are some few important things to remember:

• Speak clearly - Enunciate the words clearly and distinctly.

• Use the proper tone - A nonverbal component in communication is your tone of voice. Use a soft but firm tone so the caller can understand you better. Such tone will also make a polite answer to the individual. Cell phone calls tend to produce a louder noise. Be sure to lower your voice when answering calls from a mobile phone.

• Effective listening - Drop any activity before taking a call. These activities can be disturbing to you and the caller as well. Listen intently and patiently to the person speaking so you can get the right message imparted by the caller.

Distractions can come from anywhere or from anybody once you are on the phone. It can come from a blinking message on your computer or from an officemate chatting behind. It is essential to avoid these distractions so you can concentrate better on your task.

• Positive speech - Language can make or break a call. Some words can immediately turn off a caller and should therefore be never used.

• The golden rule - Treat the caller in a way that you want to be treated when making a call.

Keeping Matters Private

Some issues are not to be discussed on phone. When taking a private message from a caller, be sure to provide him / her with utmost privacy. Be sure that there is no noise in the background so you can both concentrate on your tasks. If necessary, you can put the individual on hold and wait for the called party to answer the call.

You may also redirect the call to voicemail so the individual can leave the message from there. For many customers, privacy is a delicate and important matter. It is therefore appropriate to provide them with the confidentiality they need.