A Substandard

Telephone
Conversation
 Acknowledgements
Group One

The publishers will like to thank the following individuals for their contribution towards the making of
this document:

Mrs. Zenia Ossei (For her tutoring)

Abrokwah Kofi Prince

Acquah Dorcas

Addico Nene Awuley

Addo Keren Agyekumwaa

Addo-Boateng Isaac

Adjei-Kyeremeh Kofi

Adzasi Victor Wotiam

Agangan Onosen Charles

Agbeke Daniel Delali

 Published 2011 by Group One

SR 289 Spintex Road, Accra-Ghana

First published in this edition 2004, reprinted 2005, 2008 2010, 2011

©2004 Group One

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holder.

ISBN 978 1 84205 407 9

Printed and bound in Ghana

 Contents

I.Preface
II.The sketch
III.Commentary
IV. Conclusion
 Preface
There are few things more annoying than being on the phone with someone who lacks good
telephone skills. With e-mail being used more frequently, people have forgotten how to speak on
the phone. They answer the phone with anything from a terse ‘hello’ to a mumbled “yes?” and
say ‘good bye’ as they toss the phone at the receiver (clunk, slam) —if they say ‘good bye’ at all.

Here are some bad habits / don’ts to avoid when using the phone:

Waiting more than three rings to answer. Answer in as few rings as possible.

Answering casually. The caller will begin to evaluate the quality of the organization from the
quality of the voice answering the phone. ‘Good morning, Widgets R Us’, how may I help you?’
is much better than, ‘Widgets R Us, please hold.’

Speaking with the transmitter under your chin, or anywhere except directly in front of your
mouth. If the transmitter is held away from your mouth, you risk not being understood. Keep in
mind that speaking on the telephone requires better articulation than is necessary in face-to-face
conversations.

Trying to figure out the phone system with a caller on the line. Nothing is more aggravating
to a caller than being cut off as the person on the other end tries to transfer a call. The time to
learn your telephone features is ahead of time. Don’t practice on the caller. Be familiar with all
of the features.

Banging the receiver on the desk or back onto the phone cradle. The handset of a phone
contains a transmitter. Dropping the thing onto a surface or banging into something as you pick it
up transmits and amplifies the noise to the listener.

Eating or drinking while talking on the phone. Ditto the above point.  Nobody wants to hear
you slurping or crunching carrots while they are trying to speak. If your mouth is full when the
telephone rings, wait a few seconds before answering.

Holding side conversations with the person at the next desk. Your caller deserves your full
attention. Do not try to carry on two conversations at the same time.

Discussing the other party without checking if they are on hold. It would be embarrassing if
you told a co-worker that a caller didn’t sound too smart, only to discover the caller was
listening.

Not waiting for an answer after asking the caller if they can hold. Too often you hear, ‘please
hold’ and the person is gone. When you ask the caller to hold, wait for them to respond.

Losing track of someone on hold. If you manage a switchboard with a lot of incoming calls,
track and prioritize who is on hold. It is irritating to answer the question, ‘Who are you holding
for?’ several times. Check back every few seconds to keep the caller informed on your progress.

Using slang or shortened words.Using slang or shortened words during phone conversation is
inappropriate and unprofessional. For instance, if you have to check on something for the
customer, say "just a moment," not "hold on a sec".
Proper telephone technique is essential to providing quality customer service. Simple attention to
these techniques will make for effective telephone communication.
THE SKETCH

The idea behind the sketch is to portray a negative or bad telephone conversation, and to be
able to point out the mistakes of those involved.

The conversation basically ensues between two individuals: a secretary at the desk of an office
(say a company or organization); and a caller. The defect or fault should be from the receiver
(secretary). He should act contradictorily to the norms and etiquettes of a good or accepted
telephone conversation.

Setting:

[Acaller has spoken early on with the CEO of a company regarding the award of a contract to
the company. The telephone call she makes is to confirm the negotiations and thus offer them
the contract]
Scene1: ACT 1

[Receiver already on a call (personal phone conversation); office line rings.]

Telephone rings: Riiiiing!! Riiiiing!! Riiiing!!

Secretary: (Picks up handsetafter three rings and answers with a grunted low tone). “Hello, how
may I help you?”

Caller: “Hello. I’m Mrs. Donkor, from the Avalanche group of companies. Is this Tour
Construction?”

Secretary: “Yes ‘Mam’, did you say Mrs. Donkor? Auntie Becky?”

Caller: Fiifi! Is Bob in the office?

Secretary: “I ain’t sure. Lemme check. Hold on a sec”.”

(Gets up to check on the CEO, and then continues initial personal phone conversation).

Scene1: ACT 2

[The secretary taking histime; still on his personal line, absent minded. Caller impatient]

Secretary: (Forgets himself and gets back a minute or two after).

“Aunty B, I’m sorry ‘oo’. He went for lunch. Any message?”

Caller: (Growing impatient from waiting)

“Alright then, could you ask him to return my call when he’s back? It’s a matter of urgency”.

Secretary: (Not having a pad and pen readily available, searching his desk furiously amidst
dropping mouthpiece on table, with rustling noises transmitted over the line to disgusted caller)

“Aunty B, I’m really sorry, the details again?”

Caller: (Caller infuriated) “Just tell him to forget about; and I called on friendly terms, bye.”

Secretary: “Oh Aunty, please hold …..” [Caller hangs up].

THE END
COMMENTARY [The mistakes]

How you interact with someone on the phone is critical to your success. Just one bad phone call
can cost you a client, annoy your boss or mar the reputation of the entire company. Individuals
do not realize the power of the telephone as a public relations tool. The caller in this sense cannot
see how impressive their office looks and the first impression possible to be shown would be
through the voice.“I challenge businesses to think that every time their phone rings, it is their
paycheck calling. I also challenge businesses to look at their phone with as much respect and
interest as they look at their merchandise, their marketing, and their employees; it is a reflection
of their "brand.”Dr. Janelle Barlow. A company can literally sell or self-destruct through the
manner of which telephones are received.

The following are the defects that occurred during the conversation:

 The secretary waited for the telephone to ring three times before answering. Such an
act is not officially acceptable.
 The use of slangs by the secretary.
 The secretary is supposed to have a writing pad at hand; in an office, it is used to take
messages from callers
 The caller hangs up in a rather unacceptable manner.

Knowing what to do -- and what not to do – whenanswering and speaking on the phone is
imperative. It will help you toacquire and retain clients, and respectively conduct
phoneconversations from your home phone.

"Do" Speak Clearly

"Do" Greet Customers Appropriately

"Do" Ask How You Can Help

"Do" Listen to the Caller's Request

"Do" Ask to Place the Caller on Hold

"Don't" Talk with Your Mouth Full

"Don't" Speak too loudly or softly

Answering the phone too loudly soundsharsh and abrasive, which is an unappealing to the
caller.

If you have to place the caller on hold, don't leave the person callingon hold for a long period of
time. Check back every few seconds tokeep the caller informed on your progress.
Using slang or shortened words during phone conversation isinappropriate and unprofessional.
For instance, if you have to checkon something for the customer, say "just a moment," not
"hold on asec".

Greetthe caller according to the time of day. Instead of simply saying "hello"when answering a
business phone, state the name of the business and name of receiver.
CONCLUSION

The telephone sits unobtrusively on your desk but it can dominate you unless you tame it! To
use your telephone effectively, you need to manage its use.

It's easy to fall into the trap of believing that because your caller can't see you, they won't be
affected by what you are doing and what's going on around you. Remember not to:

Let it ring more than four times

Eat and drink while talking on the phone
Be too familiar
Talk to someone else in your office
Have too much background noise
Speak too quietly or too loudly
Speak too quickly.

The way you speak over the telephone conveys 85% of your message, so by focusing on the tips
above, you and your employees can make it a smooth flight in your business each and every
time your phone rings.