How to Use Proper Telephone Courtesy

It's important to use good phone courtesy.

Most people spend hours on the phone each day, from talking to friends on the cellphone to making business calls at work. Because people employ this lifesaving tool so much it is very easy to let your phone manners slip.

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Instructions

- 1
  
  Don't dial a number from memory if you don't remember it, and risk the possibility of a misdialed number and disturbed stranger. While it's tempting, you all know how frustrating it is to run halfway across the house or dig through a stack of papers to answer the phone, just to have some soul whisper penitently, "oh, sorry, wrong number."
- 2
  
  Keep calls to busy individuals as short as possible; also ask if it's convenient for them to talk to you just now.
- 3
  
  Identify yourself immediately when calling to avoid misidentification and frustration on the part of the caller. In addition, when dialing friends or family, don't play the "guess who?" game. Save that for game night.
- 4
  
  Time your calls to least interfere with other people's schedules. If you know that a family has small children at home, then don't call during early afternoon- - that's probably naptime. You may have a friend who sleeps in extra late on Saturday and who would greatly appreciate being left alone. While it's inevitable to accidentally disturb someone, don't do it knowingly.
- 5
  
  Avoid making business calls close to closing hours if you can possibly help it. With the advent of longer and longer commutes, taking a person's time just before closing hours may prevent them from getting work wrapped up on time.
- 6
  
  Be congenial when you answer the occasional wrong number,. Most of the time the individual on the other end had absolutely no intention of disturbing you; there's no reason to get irascible with him or her.
- 7
  
  Let the phone ring a good while. There's nothing more frustrating than dropping everything you're doing to answer the phone, but find that the caller hung up just before you got there. Some experts say that you should let the phone ring at least seven times before hanging up.
- 8
  
  Use of courtesy on the phone keeps a good personal and business image, and helps build relationships with others.

Oracle ThinkQuest: Phone Etiquette

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How to Use Proper Telephone Courtesy

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