Introduction
The phone is needed in many urgent life situations. And not just dramatic ones. Dating a loved one, visiting friends, visiting the theater are often scheduled by phone. The phone is now available in every institution, enterprise, organization, in many apartments. He is an integral part of our lives. If you can talk long enough on a personal phone without much damage to the public, then many people are calling at the same time on the business phone and from the fact that they cannot contact you because of the busy line, the problem suffers, and the solution of important issues is delayed. However, talking on the home phone disrupts the plans of friends and relatives.
Telephone communication is a special area of communication that requires certain skills. But I must say that not everyone can use it properly.
1. “Phone protection”
Everyone who calls you on the phone is convinced that he is the only one. and there is no question more important than him. Plus he is confident that you can only listen to him all day long. And if you try to persuade such a person, limit the time of the conversation or deviate altogether, first, he will not understand you, and secondly, it is difficult to predict what the consequences of your refusal can lead to.
1.1 Method of fencing
The phone can be very time consuming. How to enter it in a working day? It will be better if you fend off unnecessary calls in advance or move them to another, more convenient time for you.
- Inform everyone you are talking to on the phone (subordinates, colleagues, customers, friends, relatives) about when not to call you.
- Assign time for daily active (flowing from you) telephone conversations whenever possible.
- I’ll tell my subscribers the time when it’s best for you to call.
- Avoid the end of a conversation like “Call me something!”. if you want the person to ring again.
- Do not make people wait for you to expect news from you, and ring the bells at the exact time before they call you and remind you.
- Have all incoming phone calls go through your secretary or through your answering machine.
- Many people have an emotional bias against an answering machine. It “silences” all calls indiscriminately. However, its advantages over shutting down the phone completely are that after all the cases are completed it is possible to listen to the messages of the subscribers and call them.
If you do not have a secretary or answering machine, you will be able to defend yourself against unnecessary calls with such short and precise phrases as: “I’ll call you back later” or “Please call me back in 16 hours”.
1.2 Talk without delay
In exceptional cases where important calls are broken or during a telephone “hour of reception”, you should immediately find out at the beginning of the conversation:
- Who is your subscriber, what company, what position he has, what issues he solves.
- What he wants.
- How urgent and important is his case (deadline).
- When will you be able to call him (after completing his request or proposal).
- What number can you call him (at the first contact: address, telephone or telex number, spelling of the surname).
- And of course, you need to write down all the answers to these questions.
1.3 Callback
The third method of rational work with the phone (after fencing and talking without delay) – call back (in response).
Why should a reason for a call to you be automatically considered more important than your case, which is interrupting you by picking up the phone? One of the Western managers said so: “Nobody expects a doctor or surgeon to interrupt an appointment or surgery and go to the phone. No one will ask for a lawyer’s phone during a business examination or a professor during a lecture. Why expect a business person to be “always ready” when the phone rings? ”
“Telephone block”
The callback method pushes to another method – the “telephone block”.
Choose one or two time intervals, for example, closer to noon or evening, when you will be able to conduct all your telephone conversations consecutively (all together) or in series, in advance of preparing for a homogeneous job.
And do not interfere with incoming calls. If you determine the purpose of the conversation beforehand, you can immediately start discussing important things. You do not waste time rushing to search the documents you need. because everything is already in order.
But make sure that the “phone blocks” are not very long (about 30 minutes), otherwise the phone will be constantly busy and those who call you will lose patience.
2. “When to call and what is my goal?”
2.1 Phone and time diary
You can use a day plan to speed up the preparation of one or more phone calls. Tick the questions to find out by phone and, if necessary, their results:
- Conversation
- Partner
- The theme, the motive
- Phone number
- Priority
- Performance monitoring
2.2 When is it best not to call?
- It makes “small phone calls” at a time when they cannot disrupt the workflow.
- Use “unprecedented intervals” of time, pauses between business and meetings.
- Do not use your phone during peak hours.
- Auspicious time for calls – from 8.00 to 9.30, from 13.30 to 14.00, after 16.30.
- Before each call, answer yourself three questions:
- is there a clear need to speak?
- is it necessary to know the partner’s answer?
- Can’t I see my partner (caller) without a call?
- Preliminary considerations that do not lead to a telephone conversation are more valuable than a phone call with no purpose or result.
2.3 What is my goal?
Dial a caller number only when the purpose of the call is clear:
- Do I just want to keep in touch and exchange views with a colleague?
- Do I want to remember something or make a new connection?
- Do I want to receive or pass on information?
- Do I want to share an idea and ask to evaluate it?
- Do I want to convince others of my intentions and become more familiar with my projects?
- Find out the best time to make a call to keep your partner away. Set this time at the end of a phone call or in a personal meeting.
- Alert your call ahead of time. Many of your partners will wait for your call if you specify in advance (by letter, telex, secretary) the exact time. You will save them and your time and speed up the solution.
- Get ready for your calls in a business and meaningful way.
Tune in to a partner and focus on having conversations.
Call
10 tips for making a phone call
Say the words clearly, do not cover the microphone, re-name your name – these and other rules are widely known. But the plus for them is:
To be short.
Keep the phrase to a minimum. The beginning of a conversation determines its course and end.
“Hello, Mr. H., how are you?” Is nothing more than an invitation for a long conversation about family, vacations, hobbies and current events, up to the weather.
“Good afternoon, Mr. H.! I need to get some information quickly if you have a minute, ”such phrases are by no means impolite but warrant a short phone call.
If the first contact is of particular importance for the purpose of the conversation, you can briefly recall compatible cases. It is convenient for a stranger to introduce himself.
First, say “what is it” and only then explain the reasons and details.
Do not interrupt the conversation for the reason that there is an important call on the other device. If necessary, ask if you can break in, and the reassurance is that you will call back in 10 minutes.
Avoid “parallel conversations” with the people around you.
Speak clearly and ask your subscriber’s consent if you want to record a conversation on a tape or connect a parallel machine.
At the end of a long conversation, summarize and list the steps to be taken (who exactly, when and what to do).
If necessary, ask for or promise a short written confirmation of the telephone conversation. This is a copy of the record of the conversation with the signature.
During the conversation, write down such important details as names, numbers, and basic information that can then be read and understood by your subordinates or colleagues.
Speech, especially for long distance calls, for the duration – the cost of your conversation (use a stopwatch, chronograph, hourglass, electronic counter for this purpose).
End the conversation as soon as its goal is reached!
Many phone conversations often take a very long time because it is difficult for both partners to complete them. “Thank you very much, Mr. H.! I think that’s enough. I hope to see you soon! ” – this kind of phrase allows you to end the conversation rationally and concisely, as well as being polite and not impersonal. Seek to train your partners in your style of telephone conversation – concise but also polite. The last impression you have should be the best.
The phone is most commonly used in the business world and most often gives rise to misunderstandings. Train yourself to record all the important conversations. Why?
You will have an important document (evidence) for further work. You can record directly on the document used in the conversation, on a business letter or on a separate letter.
If you call
Before Talk:
Think about whether this conversation is necessary.
Determine its purpose.
Have paper, a pencil (pen), and a calendar and materials you need to talk.
During the conversation:
Lifting the handset, introduce yourself: last name, name, patronymic, department, enterprise (city, republic).
Talk straight into the handset.
Speak the words clearly.
See if you can tell who you need.
Ask if the other party has time for a call or better call back later.
Try to create a positive mood.
Do not dispute in the “forehead” of the interlocutor if you want to achieve a favorable result of the conversation.
Listen carefully to the other party, do not interrupt him.
Speak in a calm voice, don’t yell.
Try to add a nice tone to your voice.
Smile more often. The interviewee does not see it, but feels it.
Avoid monotony, change the pace and tone of the conversation.
Do not speak very quickly or slowly, try to “adjust” to the pace of the interlocutor.
Do not overestimate the interlocutor’s ability to understand special terminology.
Avoid jargon.
Use pauses.
If the interlocutor does not understand, do not be passionate and do not repeat what he said in the same words, find new ones.
At the end of the conversation clarify: who and what to do next.
After the conversation:
Ask yourself: is everything right?
Don’t send this message to anyone?
Write down the exact outcome of the conversation – what has been agreed with the interlocutor.
Write down what you promised to do.
Make the necessary notes in the diary.
If they call you
Always keep a pencil and paper near your phone.
Answer your name and department (firm).
Write down the name immediately called and his problem.
If the caller didn’t introduce himself, ask him about it.
If you cannot answer the question immediately, then:
a) convey the content of the conversation to a person who knows the problem .;
b) ask if you can call back as soon as the question arises;
c) ask if the other party can wait.
If this takes a long time, tell the other party and ask if he or she can wait or better call back later.
After clarifying the question, thank the interlocutor and apologize for making him wait.
If the caller is aggressive, do not take his behavior as a lunge against you and do not be angry: obviously, this behavior has a reason, try to understand it.
What is the question, is the answer
The main purpose of all telephone conversations is to obtain complete and accurate information, which eliminates repeated clarifications. What prevents this? First, the inability to ask questions so that the information is complete. Secondly, communication barriers that distort value and lead to information loss.
Criteria for evaluating the information received: completeness and accuracy, reliability, usefulness, novelty, timeliness, need for response.
Swiss thinker of the late eighteenth century. Lafater said, “You want to be smart – learn to ask intelligently, listen carefully, calmly answer, and stop talking when there is nothing more to say.”
Already in the II century. BC the Roman Emperor Quintilian recommended a complete set of questions to fully understand the problem: “Who? What? As? When? Why?”.
12 errors near the telephone
Do not pick up the phone immediately after the first call.
You yell into the receiver, thinking that the other party is hearing you badly, generating noise with your own cry.
You speak the traditional “allo”, which contains absolutely no information.
You are rude if the caller is not at the address.
You dial the number, though your phone was called and the connection broke.
You remain silent for a while, giving the impression that you have been separated.
You’re talking about non-negotiable issues.
You take up the phone for a long time, forgetting that it is needed by others.
You talk in a way that disturbs others
You use a business phone during business hours for private conversations.
When you answer your phone call, you ask “Who’s on the phone?”.
Without introducing yourself, you speak the name of the person you need.
Conclusion
So that the phone becomes an assistant in the work and just communication of people, and not interfere with and cause irritation to you and others, it is necessary to observe certain rules that make up the culture of communication on the phone. And for yourself it is useful to find out:
No goal – no bells.
Your business is more important than the caller’s words.
Allow other people to use your phone.
Busyness, brevity, accuracy, respectfulness, gratitude are the most basic rules of telephone communication.
