Read the text and formulate 10 golden rules of telephoning in English.

Making Business Calls

The telephone is often the first point of contact a customer or client will have with a company so it is very important that you make a good impression when you’re answering the phone.

Unless you are working in a busy call centre or on a switchboard, be as prompt as possible in answering the phone. Potential clients and many customers lead busy lives and if you let the phone ring too long before answering, they might have already hung up and taken their business elsewhere.

Always greet the caller according to the time of day and identify yourself with either a first name or first name and surname and the company name followed by establishing the reason for the call.

You never know how simple or complex the nature of call might be so it’s important that you’re prepared and know how to handle the call.

If you’re working on a busy switchboard, you’ll need to understand how to transfer calls internally and you should also keep a pen and pad handy so you can jot down details of the call.

Speak slightly more slowly on the phone than you would if you were having a general face-to-face conversation. Important details can get overlooked if you speak too quickly and it also saves you from having to repeat yourself. This is especially true if you have a very pronounced regional accent

People hate being put on hold although most of them do understand that it is sometimes inevitable. If you need to place a caller on hold for any reason, firstly tell them why and ask them if they object to being placed on hold.

Before ending the call, you should always try to recap what you’ve discussed, if appropriate, and ask the caller if there is anything else you can help them with before saying ‘goodbye’ and hanging up. It’s also good practice to let the caller hang up before you do.

If you’ve been asked to pass a message on to a work colleague, always do so as soon as possible. The longer you leave it, the more likely you will either forget to do so or you’ll pass on incorrect details of the call.

In general, however, if you’re friendly, courteous and helpful, answering the phone should not present you with too many problems.

Speaking

Before you begin, it is important to learn key vocabulary used when telephoning. Telephone conversations use a number of standard phrases that are specifically used only when telephoning in English.

3. Read and translate some useful phrases for making business calls: