Phone Etiquette

In the world of fast communication, be it the internet, cell phone or messaging, maintaining certain etiquettes is important. Phone etiquette involves certain dos and don’ts that must be adhered to while talking to someone especially in the corporate or business arena. First and foremost, is to be courteous and sophisticated. Most people do not realize the fact that their voice can reveal a lot of their personality even if they are not in conversation face to face. However, your voice and the choice of words that you use while talking to people over the phone must be kind, polite, clear and sophisticated.

Remember that before you begin your conversation introduce yourself incase you are talking to that person for the first time. Remember to do this even when you have met the person formally but are talking over the phone for the first time as he or she may not recognize your voice. Also, before you begin the topic of your discussion, take permission of the other person online whether it is the right time to talk to them or not. Phone calls generally should not be made before nine in the morning or after eight or nine at night. Try to avoid lunch timings as well. One should always check the number before dialing. Be certain of the number you are dialing to avoid disturbing somebody else unnecessarily. In case if you do reach a wrong number, please apologize and say that you probably dialed the wrong number before hanging up.

While you are on the phone, keep the subject matter short and concise especially if it is a business related call. Generally, people like to keep it short over the phone, hence be sure that you are able to explain the subject matter or convey the message shortly.

In case you are using a cell phone and are at a public place, keep your volume low but make sure that you do not make it very low such that the other person cannot hear you. In case you are using your cell phone for business use as well, make sure that you choose your caller tune wisely. This may appear trivial but it does contribute to who you are especially to prospective clients.

Even if you know who is calling you, the correct way to answer the phone is saying ‘hello’. You may later add the name of the person who is calling you but ‘Yes Mr./Miss/Mrs.… sounds a little out of place initially in a corporate scenario. Phone etiquettes involve using kind phrases like "Just a moment, please.", “Kindly be online”, Can I put you on hold?”, “May I have your name please?”, “Sorry to keep you waiting” etc. In case if your phone is busy, send an SMS immediately after ending the call or call back the person soon.

Last but not the least, it is important that you do not slam the receiver down or disconnect the call abruptly. You must make sure that the conversation has ended and possibly so by conveying it to the other person. When you need to end the conversation and hang up, do so gently.