Advancement in communication technology has shrunk the world to the size where any person locatedBene at any place on the planet is just a call away from anywhere. the globe have become an easy possibility giving rise to the necessity of developing a common code of conduct – in business – to be used across locations in order to minimise the cultural impact on cross border communication. Telephone etiquette is one of such common code of conduct which has developed to impart ethical professionalism to exchange of communication between two entities across the globe.
Just like email etiquette, telephone etiquette also applies to personal dealings between two individuals, though this article will be restricted to business dealing On a phone call. Etiquette stands for standard behaviour which is expected of professionals from each other under certain circumstances. It helps by helping you make a good impression of yourself, as well as the business you represent, to the person on the other side of the call.
Benefits of Following the Rules of Telephone Etiquette
Helps you connect better with others
When you make a business you may be connecting to someone you already know or someone new you would want to connect with for the first time. In both the cases you need to appear approachable, disciplined, intelligence, and sensible and sensitive individual.
In case you are calling someone for the first time the challenge is to convey all these qualities to the person on the other side of the call, just, and just over your voice, the language and words you choose to use. In case you are following telephone etiquette Your voice can convey intelligence with the way you use your words and how you structure your sentences. The voice can convey approachability and sensitivity to others via it’s tone; a softer tone convey these traits better than a harsher one.
As the first wave of sound from your voice rings the ears of the person you have called the mind of that person instantaneously registers these qualities of yours. This will decide how the rest of your call with that person will proceed ahead. Either the minds connect or they disconnect at this very moment. The deciding factor is the voice and words you use at this stage.
Telephone Etiquette Builds Trust and Loyalty
Building trust with someone you are talking for the first time is the biggest challenge at hand. It’s easy to deceive on a phone call as the other signals of possible deception, visible in your body language, are missing on a phone call. Telephone etiquette project you as a professional who cares about his own organisation as well as others.
Some one who follows telephone
Someone who is appears considerate over a call will never cross his limits in anything. Learning to speak the way as if you are sure of what you are talking about conveys your trustability to the one you are conversing with. Human beings have the ability to read voices by instinct as their minds have evolved for sensing danger in sounds and voices around them. A trait crucial to their survival from the beginning of evolution.
Telephone etiquette
Projecting your ethics over the call will help you convey to the other party that you mean business, and are no where leads serious about it. The other person can rely on you and your loyalty to their good.
Professionalism Delivers Satisfaction
Your commitment,sincerity, and dexterity at handling your cause (work) is professionalism. Interacting with clients, colleagues and seniors is an inherent part of any job. Apart from the content of the conversation using right etiquette to begin and end a conversation speaks a lot about the degree of your professionalism you bring to your work.
customers, clients who can sense professionalism in your dealings feel safe and satisfied with you and your organisation. Telephone etiquette is meant to project high standards of professionalism over a phone call so that the listener on the other side is satisfied of your intentions, manners, and dealings with them.
Satisfaction is a quality which can only be generated in others with the right and timely usage of certain words and mannerisms while conversing with them. When you follow etiquette with people on call and those around you they feel respected and cared for, which induces a feeling of satisfaction in them.
Basic Rules of Telephone Etiquette in Business Communication
The cell phone can be a friend and a foe at the same time. Using the phone the right way, personally and in office settings covers the expanse of telephone etiquette in business communication.
Should you allow calls in Business Meetings?
Picking up and answering your calls in business meetings is a bad etiquette. A lot of people have blocked this time, from their busy schedules, for conversing on some important agenda, issue at hand. Learn to respect all of their’s times and commitment to the discussion the meeting has been called for.
Remember to put your cell phone on silent mode before yo enter the meeting room. In case you are expecting some important call let the prospective caller know that you would be in a meeting from what time to up till when. Activate your voice mail too before the meeting begins.
Do not ask your caller to mail or message you during that time, avoid fiddling with your phone or mails during the meeting. In case you notice receiving some messages and mails during the meeting do not open or begin reading them. Delay this till the meeting is over.
In case you are expecting an urgent call, kindly ask for permission from all present by saying, “sorry for interrupting, but I need to receive this call.” Then get up and receive the call by going out of the meeting room. Keep the call as short as possible and return to your seat immediately after that.
Never pick up a call in the middle of a meeting and whisper “ I am in a meeting now.” This will be disrespect to the person who is conducting the meeting at that time.
Choosing the right Caller Tune
Have you ever felt irritated when suddenly one of your colleague’s mobile begins blaring some latest Bollywood’s bawdy song which appears shattering the peace of the work area in an office. Your first reaction to this would be, “ What the hell, he doesn’t care for others,” or “What a bad taste in music he has.”
Displaying your personal taste in art in public, especially in an office environment van backfire. Not everyone will approve of your choices and the ones who won’t will create an impression of you based on your choices in personal matters.
Choose some professional, sober, and non intruding caller tunes. keep the volume of the call ringer low along with the vibration mode on. Others do not need to know when you receive a call on your cell phone. Tone on the safer side choose the basic one’s available by default within the cell phone’s sounds gallery.
Old phone classic ringer is the best bet.
Being Loud on the cell phone
Why do we carry a notion that the louder we speak the more weight our point will carry.? It is not uncommon to hear unwanted conversations around us all the time. Why does someone need to hear the details of your salary negotiations with your prospective company. Have you ever scowled over some one sitting behind you, on a public transport, shouting on the phone over a misendeavor of not your making. Telephone etiquette begins with the sense of caring about other’s sensibilities.
Modern cellphones can catch the slightest of the whispers, of not only your’s but even from the surroundings. In case you are anticipating an emotionally charged conversation walk away from the public and find an isolated spot, may be a cabin to adequately express yourself.
Always make sure that you are at least 6 feet away from the nearest person and cover the mouthpiece of the phone with your hand when you are speaking. Keeping your voice low in all telephone conversations is a good rule of telephone etiquette.
Cell phones of today are sensitive enough to pick up the slightest of whispers from around you. Keep out of the range of all the back ground sounds that can possibly exist in your situation.
Use Silent Mode, Telephone Etiquette
When in public, make sure your cell phone remains on silent mode with the vibration on. A silent vibration emanating from the pocket of your suit or trousers is enough to alert you of an incoming call or message when you are among other people who have other priorities than getting startled by the jarring cell phone ringer of your’s.
the phone ringer must be silenced when you are weddings, funerals, watching plays at theatre, or while waiting for your turn to be billed at a grocery store.
Same goes true during board meetings, while giving a job interview, presenting something at office, and while meeting your clients. Though may sound contradictory but you actually do not need phone ringer’s sound while you are working inside a sound proof cabin, a slight vibration will easily get your ears.
Unwanted sounds can be equally distracting to you in case you are focusing on the task at hand.
Cell Phones can Endanger your Life
Now, this telephone etiquette is more about your safety than just plane manners. Here I am talking about your own safety along with the safety of others around you. Have you ever realised that you are at your most vulnerable when you are talking on a cell phone in public, railway stations, while walking on a deserted road etc.
This is because all your senses are at their lowest as your focus is on the call. This can make your danger sensing antennae turn off, the right trap a mobile, or chain snatcher would love to use, only that here, you have yourself made his job easier.
Never talk on phone in a deserted or isolated locality especially at night or any odd hours. Never talk on phone while driving a four wheeler, more so a two wheeler (which can be technically dangerous to maintaining the required balance of the moving vehicle) as relative speeds between you and the traffic around you will not give you a chance to react in case any one of you looses his track, traction, or focus.
Redialing to Force Someone to Answer
In case someone doesn’t answer you call the first time, do not assume that they are avoiding your call. These days almost everyone carries the cell phone on themselves most of the times. In case they are not answering they may be busy with something more urgent or of more priority at that moment.
Calling them repeatedly in order to force them to answer the call appears indecent. I have personally seen 5 missed calls within 1 minute from certain acquaintances which appears rude on their part.
In case the other person did not answer the call first time, wait for them to call back, or wait for another hour or so before you recall. In case something is urgent, immediately drop them a message with a request to call back at the earliest possible. Additionally send an email as these days all cellphones are equipped to handle mails.
Texting, Telephone Etiquette
Mobile phone texting has assumed its own language; emojis have replaced words for the corresponding emotion, words by themselves have shrunk to cryptic looking codes. This is the language of the new generation, or the younger lot who are comfortable with informality in everything they do.
Business dealings are differently, especially with someone you have yet to know, like a new. Liens or a customer. Using ‘btw’ for ‘by the way’ may sound churlish to someone who doesn’t know you at personal level. We are talking of business communication here, personal touch can be detrimental to the prospective relationships you are desiring to build for future.
Informality lacks trust and sincerity if used for the first time. Always type full words with complete sentences to project your seriousness to the related task while texting to your colleagues, seniors, or clients. You must use texting only where the matter at hand lacks the urgency of making a phone call instead.
Do not use messaging on cell phone for long discussions, typing for long can be physically tiring for both, instead make a call for the same. As per international telephone etiquette norms never convey bad news via texting. When you need to fire an employee or convey condolences to someone always meet and do it in person for adding a personal touch to the difficult process for both of you.
abbreviated text, emoticons, and slangs ( If used) convey lack of language skills on your part to the reader. Use the text messages sparingly, keep them as formal as possible while dealing with any kind of business communication.
Video / Teleconferencing Etiquette Rules
Conducting meetings over internet via teleconferencing and videoconferencing has become the norm for corporates today. These technologies have removed the need for physical proximity among a number of people to be able to confer on any matter of importance. You can be Located anywhere on the planet, still, you can be part of a business meeting being joined by other participants from various locations and circumstances.
Telephone etiquette is not a luxury but necessity here, because it can help the coordinator to effectively organise, streamline and relay the communication direction for maximum benefits. In the absence of such etiquette, or rules, in spite of the technological wonder, the online meetings can end up into a chaotic failure.
Teleconferencing Etiquette
A teleconference to be effective needs to be properly planned beforehand. A videoconference is still more like a face to face meeting, but a teleconference is different; your presence is registered only by your voice. The members in the meet cannot see or read each other’s body language and thus the feedback loop is cut off.
At individual level too the participants feel less involved and connected as they are speaking in the blank. That is the reason for a teleconference to be successful it needs to be planned and coordinated properly.
First and foremost every telecon needs a coordinator. Someone who can coordinate, facilitate, and put everything together for other participants. He is the one who should plan the meeting, decide the agenda and execute the meeting.
The facilitator must email all the participants the details of the teleconference: the agenda, date,time, number to be dialed for the telecon, and the password for logging in the conference. Very important is that a time limit should be determined for the teleconference so that all are aware of finishing the agenda within the decided duration.
As a participant make sure that, if possible, you are at a quiet spot or a corner at where ever you are. Walk away from the background noises so that they do not get transmitted to all the participants via the telecon. You have to be really creative to find a quiet corner inc are you are at an airport, in a park, or a hospital at that time.
make sure that your cell phone is in proper working conditions and no settings, that can impede the teleconference process, are activated on it. Very important! Check whether the mute button is in a working condition on your device.
Telephone Etiquette after the telecon begins
As per the telephone etiquette norms log into the call on time. Do not keep others waiting for you or else you would be stealing the times of multiple others who would be kept on hold, just because you are late.
It’s very unprofessional to be late for any commitment in the business world. Indians are anyhow looked upon as being comfortably habituated to being late. Let us break the impression.
Before getting into rolling the main agenda the facilitator must greet, introduce all the participants and use some ice breakers to lighten the moods. He should mention the names, titles, and locations of the participants while introducing them to the team. Last he must read out the agenda to all before allowing the discussion to proceed.
Make sure that your cell phone is properly charged and use ear phones to increase your level of presence in the telecon. The best is to use a landline phone because it won’t have connectivity issues. Avoid feeding any sounds of munching (chips), keyboards, phone ringing in the background, and babies bawling around into the teleconference.
The participants when begin to speak must identify themselves so that the listeners know whom are they interacting with. Take proper pauses when you speak in the telecon. Aquaint yourself with the right way to speak in office environment. When asking questions name the individual whom it is directed to, this will save others time of guessing who is supposed to answer on the same.
Speak slowly in case the participants are from other countries and use simple language. Do wait a bit longer for responses. The facilitator must make sure that he closes the conference call on the predefined time by announcing its closure in the call. In case the discussion needs to be extended, plan another call, or suggest to stay in touch via email.
Videoconferencing – Telephone Etiquette
All the telephone etiquette listed above for teleconferencing applies to videoconferencing too. The major difference being that here The participants can see each other along with the individual surroundings. Make sure that your are dressed formally and your body language conveys the right image to others. In case you are taking a videoconference from your office you have the luxury of sitting in a neat and tidy space, mostly your office table, with a minimal or blank background. Move any wire tangles, coffee cups or u wanted stationary out of the view of the camera you are facing for the videoconference.
It is advised to wear solid colors, geometric and floral prints can appear pixelated on a not very high end camera mostly used in offices. Best is to wear a white shirt and a jacket over it. The Lapel of the jacket will cut a White V on the shirt underneath it which will reflect adequate light on your face. This will make you appear bright and alert.
Look directly into the camera and assume that camera is always on to you, even when you are not speaking. Avoid fidgeting, scratching, Mukti tasking, winking, or eating anything during a videoconference. Let the main light fall directly on your face from behind the camera. Never use a bright light behind you which will fall directly into the camera, as this will blur you out with the glaring light showing in the camera view.
Always try a dry run before the actual Videoconference begins in order to check the right functioning, positioning of all the equipment involved.
Voicemail Telephone Etiquette
In some countries, like India, voicemail is the most underused and that’s why most wrongly used telephone services available today. Once in a while in case the voicemail machine does receive an input it is either too long, or stuffed with verbal garbage with sounds like like ‘umm’, ‘ Uff’ throughout the message.
One of the reasons people do not use voice mail service a lot is because they are very conscious of their own voices being heard by others. Their fumble can make others judge their credentials or it’s too private to leave your voice on a recorder to be replayed by a stranger later. Telephone etiquette can be very helpful in this area of business communication.
In case you are leaving an out of office message on voicemail leave your name and details about the duration you will not be available on phone, and whether or not the caller can contact you via email during that period.
For example, ‘ Hi, this is Randeep from Flexicon. I will be away from office till 22nd of December 2022, but will be accessible on emails. In case of an urgency please get in touch with my colleague Francisca.’
In case you are leaving a message on other’s voicemail state your name and the name of your organisation very clearly. Mention the purpose of the call in clear terms. keep it short and refrain from any redundant pleasantries.
For Example, ‘ This is Randeep from Flexicon. I wanted to talk to you regarding the interview I had attended on 23rd November, 2022 at your end. Thank you.’
Mention your mobile number in the message as voicemails can be accessed from anywhere and the person can get back to you in the shortest possible time. Do not use words like ‘uhh’, ‘Ok’, must be avoided as these will sound very unprofessional to the receiver of the voicemail.
Teach yourself how to modulate your voice to for imparting it a professional touch. It’s better to write down your message before you record it back for the voicemail.
Speaker Phones – Use Them Right
The biggest advantage of speaker phones is that they allow you to be talk into them hands free. Rather, the hands free feature of the smart phones of today adds to the efficiency of videoconferencing.
Always make sure that you do not put a phone call on speaker Ina public area, use a cabin or a sound proof space to do so. You must ask for permission from the other person before putting them on the speaker. In case you do not apprise them of the same they would sense it from the voice quality and would feel vulnerable in that call. They may feel deceived from your side.
Do let the person you are about to put on speaker know who all are present around the call and would be listening to your conversation. In case you have to take a long call in which you are required to give instructions or direction to then other person, choose a closed cabin and always put the call on speaker for bettering the quality of the conversation.
In case you began a call on speaker inside a closed cabin and another person walks in unaware of the context in which the other call is going on, immediately pick the phone and revert the call to the ear piece. The person on the other side of the call will not be aware of this intrusion and could possibly be sharing some confidential information with you.
Telephone Etiquette Miscellaneous
Whenever you are calling someone on the landline make sure you identify yourself with your name. The landlines majorly lack caller I’d facility and the receiver wouldn’t know the ware about s of the caller. In case the receiver wasn’t expecting your call, always ask in case this is the right time to talk. They could be focused on something more urgent.
In case you are answering your direct line in office always answer with your name and the name of your organisation. Never with a ‘Hello’. If you are sitting T your desk pick up the call within three rings, or programme your phone to activate the voicemail after the phone rings for 4-5 times.
If you have activated your voicemail, keep checking them frequently and return the calls from there within 24 hours. This is the standard norm for telephone etiquette. In case you are not able to adhere to this standard protocol, send the caller a email (in case you have it or they have left it in the voicemail) requesting when would be the right time to call them.
Interestingly a smile can be read even over the phone call. Stay calm even if you are upset with something.Never answer a call when you are angry or feeling low, or pick up the call and tell them that you will call back Ina short while. Just like the smile a cough and yawn can also get transmitted over a phone call, be discreet.
listen carefully, avoid asking the caller to repeat if possible. This will convey that you are attentive to what they have to say which projects professionalism. Do apologise in case you have dialler a wrong number, be humble to any callers who have dialled wrong number to you.
I have a interesting story to share. I have stored my best friends phone number in my cell phone and suddenly one day due to some technical glitch at the telephone operators end that number started connecting to some female somewhere in the world.
I apologised the first time, it happened again, I apologised again. Third time that female was convinced that I am purposely trying to tease her. She called me back and asked me angrily, ‘Who is this’. I immediately fathomed the situation and started by giving my name first. That would establish trust. I used a very convincing tone and explained the entire story to her in detail.
I told her my location too which helped cement the trust part. She was convinced and hung up with a ‘thats fine’.
In case you have been put on hold for longer than a minute, cut the call and try to reach the person via other means. If you are required to put others on hold, tell them that they need to be put on hold with a valid and convincing reason. Return back to them within 20 seconds at the most. In case they need to be on hold for longer, request their contact details and call them back as soon as possible.
Putting the callers on hold is the riskiest norm of telephone etiquette.
In case you have a called I’d and you are able to identify the caller before hand address them with their name. This will help you connect better with them. Always answer your calls unless their is a real serious reason for not doing the same.
In case you decide to answer a colleagues phone in their absence make sure you take notes of the message and the contact details of the caller to pass on to the colleague later. Or you can just request the caller to call after some time as the concerned person isn’t at the seat.
The safest is not to answer for others at all. Lastly try to not call others after business hours. In case of an emergency first message them that you need to talk to them at this hour with an apology for intruding into their personal time along with the urgency. They may call you back on this or message you their approval or disapproval of the same. Act accordingly.
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