Telephone Etiquette

Until someone invents an answering machine eraser, make certain your messages are clear, concise and cover what you really want to say!

This is an interactive skill between the caller and the message taker. A good rule is to take the kind of messages you would like to receive.

Clarity, conciseness, cheerfulness and good manners are key when answering the phone at work.

Depending upon the person on the other end of the line, getting off the phone politely can take a firm hand, the truth or perhaps a creative mind.

Telemarketers get trickier and more persistent every day. Be as firm and insistent as they are, but keep your cool.

Not long ago when you first nailed up your shingle, you could pick up a local phone book and call everybody in your neighborhood to tell them that you were open for business. Today, you could run...

They always call just after you've finally gotten the kids to sleep or when you've just started to nap. They call early in the morning or late at night. They even call in the middle of dinner....

In a matter of seconds, callers make a judgment about the voice on the other end of the phone. Attention to phone etiquette is vital for most businesses. Using a few professional skills will keep...

You may dread it or hate how your voice sounds, but there are times that you must leave a message on an answering machine. Whether the answering machine belongs to a friend or a business...

With telecommuting and home offices as abundant in the workplace as corporate cubicles, conference calls rank as an important meeting option for all companies. Conference call participants,...

One of the most frustrating experiences of a person's day is wading through a host of computer-generated commands when trying to contact a company's customer service department. After pressing 1...

With all the features of modern telephones, there's no need to drop what you're doing and race to answer a ringing phone. At the office, answering phone calls can greatly decrease your...

Have a point to make on a radio call-in show? To have your call aired, listen to a talk radio show that you enjoy and make very nice with the call screener. You can enjoy it because the host,...

Telemarketers seem to call during the worst times: dinner, your favorite TV show and even after you have gone to sleep. These calls can be a huge inconvenience to you and your family; but there...

It is very hard to remember digits. Everyone has been in the situation that a number is given to them when they have no pen and paper, and they forget it only seconds later. Remember a number on a...

When you're calling customer service, you're often already pretty steamed. The item you bought isn't working, the service isn't right or the order is incomplete. There are some critical elements...

Before you pick up the phone to call customer service or tech support, take a few minutes to prepare. By having a few simple things ready, the call with go much smoother for both you and the...

Good manners never go out of style. Just as our mothers taught us how to answer a telephone, it's our turn to pass on good manners for modern technology usage. These guidelines can help you...

Did you ever get a new phone number and then receive countless phone calls for someone who didn't live there? Have you come home and found messages left to this person on your voice mail? This...

As a teenager growing up in a small town I realized that I was extremely, painfully shy and had a difficult time speaking in front of groups and, especially, to or with girls of my age. I could...

Answering a friend's phone can leave you feeling awkward. Knowledge of phone etiquette can help to reduce the awkwardness. Politeness and good manners are key to representing your friend and...

It happens to everyone. You look at the number on your Caller ID and wonder who has called. If it is a local number, most phone books have a numerical listing for you to look up. For long...

Answering the phone politely is an essential aspect of communicating with others. It isn't difficult to do. Simply practice some basic principles of etiquette, and you'll create a pleasant...

When you are babysitting you often have other responsibilities besides watching the children. One of your jobs might be to answer the telephone. It is important to watch what you say after picking...

Many find it hard to keep their cools during difficult phone conversations. Once the discussion rises to a shouting match, it's usually too late to pull back. Practice maintaining your sense of...

We’ve all been involved in phone conversations that, for whatever reason, became painfully and ridiculously awkward. Some people are veritable Houdinis at escaping such conversations, but others,...

Nothing is more frustrating than making a call and having to speak with a child who doesn't have appropriate telephone manners. It is important to teach appropriate phone protocol to your child so...

In today’s society, where everyone is busy and rushing from one thing to another, it can be difficult to get in touch with someone on the telephone. You will probably find yourself leaving a voice...

When you speak on the telephone, your voice conveys not only your message but your confidence level as well. To come across as a confident person over the telephone and make a better impression,...

Whether you're faking an illness to call in sick for work or prank-calling a friend, the ability to sound like someone else over the phone can be a useful skill. Here's a few tricks to help you...

Even in this age of widespread cell phone use, you can sometimes find yourself needing to use a pay telephone. When you don't have change for the phone, you can make your necessary call for free...

Few people enjoy making a customer service call. You can spend an hour or more on hold, only to find frustration and aggravation once you speak with a customer service representative. However,...

Talk radio shows have some very interesting discussions on variety of topics such as politics, religion, race, big headlines in the news, relationships and more. Listeners make the radio broadcast...

The joys of technology are unfolding for children daily. One of the most fun things they like to do as they enter the early elementary school years is answer the phone. This can be helpful if you...

In recent years, receiving unwanted calls at all hours of the day has become annoying to say the least.Now, we have a way to stop these unwanted solicitations in our homes. Let me show you how...

We all at sometime have to talk to a customer service so with these easy tips you can have a good experience with a call center.

We'd all like to slam the phone down on telemarketers after uttering a few "choice" expletives; however this will not stop the endless slew of phone calls. This article has been written to help...

"Do Not Call!" With the development of the "Do not call" list, the amount of unwanted telemarketers has dramatically fallen in many households. What happens when you move, however, and there is a...

Unwanted and unknown phone calls are a regular occurrence in today's world. Your efforts to screen calls may be hindered when you see strange numbers or get repeated calls from unknown numbers....

People's identities are stolen all of the time. One of the ways your identity can be stolen is over the telephone. Identity theft, however, is easy to prevent if you just take adequate precautions.

You've opened up your statement, and ... surprise--there's a fee! Who do you call? That infamous 1-800 number of course, but what do you say and do from there?

I've worked as a Customer Service Representative for over six years and I've learned a few tricks. Here, I'll share the best tactics for getting what you want when you dial that 1-800 number.

Everyone needs some romance in their lives , but it can be difficult to find the time with careers, kids, and all the other hundreds of things you may have on your mind.A romantic phone call to...

Cell phones are accessible because you can take them anywhere and talk at any time, a convenience that is both helpful and bothersome. Cell phone etiquette is often forgotten with their...

You try to call your best friend to cancel dinner tonight, but no one answers and you have to listen to three little girls do an interesting rendition of a nursery rhyme. There is a way to bypass...

You'll learn how to talk to telemarketers and handle their phone calls.

In a digital world, it’s easy to forget that there are often times when the importance of a message one needs to deliver should be a priority. It cannot simply be shrugged off and...

Most of us use the telephone on a daily basis, but we may not always do so in the recommended way. Here are some helpful steps for better phone experiences.

How much time do you spend waiting on hold listening to bad music? This article will give you some ideas for using your time more productively.

Chances are good that many of your telemarketing calls are unsolicited and coming in just as you sit down for dinner - that is no accident. Telemarketers are doing their job just like you do...