Phone Etiquette still opens doors. Manners have meaning. Being courteous and polite on the phone is almost a lost art.
We live in a hectic world today. No one will deny that, particularly those of us who own or run businesses. When texting in “abbreviate chat-speak” spills over into your business phone conversations, you can lose a lot of professional credibility. Taking the time to be polite and show a little common courtesy, using professional phone etiquette, can catapult your reputation well above your competitors.
Good manners aren’t just for Sunday dinners. Always being polite will help you communicate that you and your organization take your business associates, and your clients, seriously. Which is always good for business.
Phone Etiquette is about more than just saying Please and Thank You.
Manners and courtesy on the phone, phone etiquette, can be expressed by showing genuine interest in the person you’re speaking with. That can be as simple as making an effort to remember and use their name, or as involved as repeating their request back to them, so both parties are perfectly clear about what is being communicated. People will form impressions about the person they’re on the phone with, by virtue of how well they feel they are understood. Better understanding means better impressions.
Being courteous on the phone means speaking clearly.
Accents are delightful, and can add a pleasant lilt to any phone conversation. And they sound best when all the words spoken are enunciated, and easy to understand. Some people, in casual conversations, can have a tendency to mash words together, or completely drop their G’s, T’s or R’s. “Ya mom’s gotta know wha’ I’m sayin’.” (Your mom has got to know what I’m saying.) And, while that might be perfectly acceptable off the clock, it must be avoided during working hours. Particularly when you’re on the phone.
If you slow your speech tempo down a little, enunciate each word and avoid slang, you can actually make your phone conversations go more quickly, because you avoid having to repeat yourself.
We lose visual cues like body language and facial expressions when using the phone, but people can still hear them.
A good, courteous, polite, professional phone conversation isn’t only in the words. Your tone and the pace of your speech will also communicate volumes. Whether you are frowning or smiling, the person on the other side of the conversation is going to know. Sometimes consciously, but very often, totally subconsciously. So, it is very important that during your business phone conversations, you’re sitting up straight and smiling.
At Front Office Staff of Reno, professional phone conversations are what we do.
Whether you’re a one-man-office or a busy, thriving mid-size conglomerate, answering your phones with professional phone etiquette and a polished, polite response, is our primary function. Making sure that your potential and current clients are all greeted like the important people they are, is one of the key “secrets” to our ongoing success.
If you would like to experience the level of professional courtesy and business etiquette you can expect from our well trained staff, please call me toll free at 800-686-5746 or direct at 775-353-6600 I know you’ll be impressed. You’re also welcome to email us, if that’s more convenient for you.
Have a great day,
Rena Zatica
10/29/12
