Telephoning

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Telephoning

• A presentation by Inanna Fronius

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Outline

• Successful telephoning
• Structure of a call
• Getting started
• Messages
• Arrangements
• Closing
• Cultural difficulties
• Additional tips

3
Successful telephoning

• Be well prepared and concentrated
• Speak slowly and clearly
• Use simple language
• Repeat most important information
• Be polite ? small talk
• Remember your telephone partner cant see your
  body language!? voice has to replace it

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Stucture of a call

• Beginning
• Introduce yourself
• Get who you want
• Small talk
• State problem/reason for call
• Middle
• Ask questions
• Get/give information
• Confirm information

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Structure of a call

• End
• Signal end
• Thank other person
• Small talk
• Refer to next contact
• Close call
• check that there is nothing else to say

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Getting started

• Calling
• say who you are
• Good Morning, this is/ Hello, this is
• Give the reason for your call
• Im calling about/ The reason Im calling is

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Getting started

• Taking a call
• Hello, Ms. X speaking
• Good afternoon, Ms. X. How can I help you?
• May I ask who is calling, please?
• Good morning, Mr. X. What can I do for you?

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Messages

• Taking a message
• May I take a message?
• Can I give him/her a message?
• Could I take your number, please?
• Ill make sure he/she gets the message.
• Is it urgent?

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Messages

• Leaving a message
• Id like to leave a message for
• Could you give Mr. X a message for me, please?
• Could you ask him/her to call me back, please?
• Could I leave a message on his voicemail?

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Arrangements

• Can we fix an appointment / schedule a meeting/
  set up a meeting?
• How about?/ Is Tuesday convenient?/Does next
  Friday suit you?/Let me check my diary
• Yes, Tuesday is fine by me/Yes, Ill be free at
  around/Good, shall we pencil in Friday morning?
• Actually I would prefer/Could we possibly make
  it earlier?/ How about Tuesday instead?

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Arrangements

• Where would be best for us to meet?/Lets meet
  in/Shall I come to your office?
• OK, so thats 1030 next Wednesday in your office
  (always reiterate the arrangement)
• Could you confirm the details in an email?
• Let me give you my mobile number in case there is
  any problem

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Closing

• Lets just go over the details again
• Can you confirm what we have agreed on?
• Can I just sum up where weve got to?
• I think that was all ? indicate the end
• Thank you for your help
• I look forward to hearing from you soon
• Well be in touch next week
• Thank you / youre welcome. Bye

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Cultural difficulties

• In Japan, Arabic countries and Britain
• smalll talk at beginning and ending of
  telephone call
• More explicit countries
• North America, Scandinavia and Germany
• ? come straight to the point
• Be careful as a plain speaker
• can easily seem rude and dominating to
  subtle speakers
• Problem on the phone
• you cannot see your counterparts body
  language

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Additional tips

• Always try to appear confident on the phone
• When saying your name on the phone, always say
• This is never My name is
• How are you? is just a polite question, you are
  not expected to give detailed information!
• Always repeat phone numbers and read them out
  separately (3-7-4-5 instead of 37-45)
• Never delete a message before you have contacted
  the person
• When leaving a voicemail, always repeat the most
  important details (name, number) at the end

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Additional tips

• German speakers sound often too direct, soften
  your language by using would and could
  instead of want and can
• Be careful about using date for a business
  appointment! date (usually) romantic meeting
• Use the telephone alphabet to practice spelling
  your name. Always say B as in Bravo or B for
  Bravo but never B like Bravo
• Consider different cultural background time
  differences
• Never forget You control the phone, do not let
  it control you!

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• THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!!!