Start With A Smile

You've probably met someone who's warm and friendly in person but sounds like a drone on the phone. Some people aren't aware of their demeanor when talking on the phone and this comes across in the person's voice.

Starting every call – whether you receive or initiate it – with a smile means sounding upbeat with life in your voice. Beginning a phone call with a pleasant voice sets a positive tone and makes others feel more relaxed with you.

Give A Professional Greeting

Follow this 4-step telephone greeting for a professional image:

1. Answer with a salutation such as "Good morning." 2. Identify what organization/department the caller has reached. 3. Identify yourself.

4. Offer assistance such as "How may I help you?"

Steps one and four make the call sound courteous and friendly, while steps two and three provide information. While using all four steps may not be right for you, use at least two: one that establishes a friendly tone and one that gives information. This starts your call on a professional and positive note.

Sound Alive, Not Scripted

If the nature of your telephone interactions involves selling, avoid sounding scripted. If your role is to get information to those you call, saying – rather than reading – your points is more likely to make you sound alive rather than robotic. More important, it conveys that you know your topic and creates conversation.

Converse With Patience

Telephone conversations increase the tendency for both parties to talk at the same time.

For phone conversations to flow smoothly, you must show a little patience and slow your pace, making sure you hear the other person's entire thought before you speak. Even if your waiting leaves a little silence, that's fine. Better for people to be heard than to be stepped on.

Tune In To Your Speaker's Tone

When you're listening on the phone, you can't see your speaker's body language. The nonverbal part of the speaker's message, such as body language and tone of voice, communicates most of the emotional meaning in the message. When you can't see the body language then you must focus on what you're hearing, not only in words but also in tone.

If Your Time Is Short, Say So

Have you ever been caught in a phone conversation when you have only a few minutes and the other person has a whole lot to say? You don't want to – or maybe can't – cut the person off, but you're struggling with trying to end the call.

In such situations, be direct and courteous instead of trying to be nice. Announce at the beginning how much time you have and then hold to it. By announcing the time limit, you encourage people to get to the point quickly. If the caller goes on longer than expected, give the caller a heads-up warning so that you can break away. If more time is needed, you can always set up another call.

When you're speaking with someone, and your cell or desk phone rings, don't answer it. Let it ring to your voicemail. Unless you've said in advance that you're expecting an important call, respect the time you have with the call you're on.

Close The Call Before You End It

Saying goodbye may end a telephone conversation, but it doesn't necessarily bring it to a close. Telephone conversations tend to be informal, so it's easy to forget to close the call.

Closing the call sometimes involves setting up the next steps and determining who's going to call whom and when. This clear and definite closure leaves you and the other person on the same page and feeling that your call was well spent.

Put The Caller On Hold Smoothly

Want to aggravate callers quickly? Put them on hold abruptly and leave them holding for a long time. Follow these three steps to courteously put someone on hold:

1. Briefly explain the reason for putting the caller on hold in one sentence such as, "I have another call. Will you please hold?"

2. Get the acknowledgement from the caller and then place him/her on hold.

3. Return to the holding caller by saying, "Thank you for holding."

If you're putting someone on hold, don't leave the caller on hold for more than a minute. Any longer, even if music is playing, and caller begins to feel forgotten and may hang up in disgust. If you need more than a minute, return to the caller and explain that your task will take longer than expected. Then give the caller a choice of either waiting longer or having you call them back.

Leave Messages Worth Returning

Using voicemail is common in business, so you may find yourself talking to a person's voicemail more often than directly to that person.

Keep your voicemail messages short, briefly explaining your reason for calling. State your name and number slowly and clearly, and then request a call back if you want one. Make that request directly rather than assuming that the person you're calling knows you want a call back. And even if you think the person knows your phone number, leave it anyway so that it's convenient for them to return your call. If you can be reached only at a certain time, then leave that information as well.