MAPEL ENGLISH LM KELAS 11 TELEPHONE COURTESY

 

TELEPHONE COURTESY

TELEPHONE COURTESY (SOPAN SANTUN BERTELEPON)

Learn About It!

In this series you will practise your English skills a lot.

To make you able to speak nature as a native speaker you have to use the variety of words that you are speaking. Don’t forget to practice your sentence rhythm and pronunciation of the words. By practicing a lot, you will be better. The more you are practicing the better you are.

To study In this lesson you have to read a lot about the topic that you are studying. You are searching for the information needed by googling will improve your knowledge and make you be literate.

Listening to the telephone conversation below.

then read the tapescripts below to give you some information about the topic that you are studying.

JANICE	:	Hello … Flagstone
JON	:	Oh hello; is that Flagstone Properties?
JANICE	:	Yes, that's right. Flagstone here. How can I help you?
JON	:	Hello. I'm ringing just to make inquiries about renting a house. My name's Jon Anderson.
JANICE	:	Yes, Mr. Anderson. What sort of thing were you looking for?
JON	:	Two-bedroomed house with garden.
JANICE	:	Well… yes, sir, that shouldn't be any problem … just to let you know that our main areas, the main areas, we deal with, are the city center itself…
JON	:	City center… uh-huh
JANICE	:	And the north suburbs.
JON	:	Oh well … were most interested in the northern areas actually.
JANICE	:	Right … yes … What sort of price were you thinking of?
JON	:	Well … could you give some idea?
JANICE	:	Certainly. It really ranges from £250 per month.
JON	:	Only £250?
JANICE	:	Yes, to about £500 depending on a number of different factors.
JON	:	What does it depend on?
JANICE	:	Well, obviously the quality of the area. And then whether there's a garden.
JON	:	Well. As I said, we'd want a garden.
JANICE	:	And a garage pushes up the price.
JON	:	Right … well, we wouldn't necessarily need one. I think about £350 a month would be our limit.
JANICE	:	OK well … would you like to have a look at a couple of properties, sir?
JON	:	Yes, that'd be great.
JANICE	:	Looking at our files … I think we've got two which might suit you …
JON	:	Hang on. I 'll just get a pen. Right.
JANICE	:	OK. Well, there's one West Park Road which is £325 a month.
JON	:	Are the bills included?
JANICE	:	Well, that one just includes the water bill.
JON	:	OK, right
JANICE	:	And the second house is in Tithe Road. I'll just spell that for you …OK
JON	:	Yep.
JANICE	:	T-I-T-H-E Road
JON	:	Got that. And how much is that one?
JANICE	:	That's £380
JON	:	380. It that including water?
JANICE	:	No, I'm afraid not, but it does include the telephone rental.
JON	:	Oh well, that's not too bad then. So, …
JANICE	:	So, when would you be available to see them?
JON	:	Well, I'll be in town next week …say …Thursday?
JANICE	:	No, I'm sorry we don't have any availability for Thursday. How about Wednesday afternoon?
JON	:	OK. That's fine. Would 5.00 be OK?
JANICE	:	Yes, fine. 5.00 it is. Just come to the Flagstone Offices.
JON	:	Oh, before I forgot. What sort of things do I need to get done … to rent with you?
JANICE	:	Well, the most important thing is a letter from your bank …
JON	:	No problem …
JANICE	:	And then a reference letter from your employer.
JON	:	Yes, that's OK
JANICE	:	Great, and then we would need you to give 2 weeks' notice of moving in …
JON	:	Right … 2 weeks' notice. And what about a deposit?
JANICE	:	That's one month's rent, whatever the amount is.
JON	:	OK. One month, Is that it?
JANICE	:	No, sorry, one more … you will have to pay for the contract.
JON	:	Oh yes. I'd forgotten about that. OK, fine. Do I'll start arranging those, and I'll …
JANICE	:	… I'll see you next week.
JON	:	Yes. Thank very much. Bye
JANICE	:	Goodbye

When you're working in customer support, you know that answering phone calls becomes the bread and butter of your position. A frontline worker typically is hired for their strong communication skills.

While it may seem obvious — just pick up the phone and say "Hello?" — answering professional calls is very different from answer personal calls. It's easy to slip up and accidentally speak to your customers the way you would to your best friend or mother. Thay why phone etiquette is very important to be learned. The Phone etiquette will be presented in this order.

1.       Answer the call within three rings.

2.       Immediately introduce yourself.

3.       Speak clearly.

4.       Only use speakerphone when necessary.

5.       Actively listen and take notes.

6.       Use proper language. 

7.       Remain cheerful.

8.       Ask before putting someone on hold or transferring a call.

9.       Be honest if you don't know the answer.

10.    Be mindful of your volume.

11.    Check for and respond to voicemails.

Why they are necessary would be explained below.

1. Answer a call within three rings.

If your position entails always being available to callers, you should actually be available. That means staying focused and answering calls immediately. The last thing you want to do is keep a customer waiting after a string of endless ringing or send them to voicemail when you should've been able and ready to reply.

As long as you're alert and at your phone at all times — excluding breaks — this rule should be fairly simple to follow. However, we recommend responding within three rings in order to give yourself enough time to get in the zone and prepare for the call. Picking up the phone right away might leave you flustered.

2. Immediately introduce yourself.

Upon picking up the phone, you should confirm with the person whom they have called. In personal calls, it's sufficient to begin with a "Hello?" and let the caller introduce themselves first. However, you want to allow the caller to know if they've hit a wrong number, as well as whom they are speaking with.

Practice answer the phone with, "Hi, this is [Your first name] from [Your company]. How can I help you?" Your customer will be met with warmth, which will encourage a positive start to your call. And, if it ends up being an exasperated college student trying to order pizza, they'll at least appreciate your friendliness.

3. Speak clearly.

Phone calls, while a great option for those who detest in-person interaction, do require very strong communication skills. For one, the person on the other end of the line can only judge you based on your voice, since they don't get to identify your body language and — hopefully — kind smile.

You always want to speak as clearly as possible. Project your voice without shouting. You want to be heard and avoid having to repeat yourself. A strong, confident voice can make a customer trust you and your support more. In case of bad cell service or any inability to hear or be heard, immediately ask to hang up and call back.

4. Only use speakerphone when necessary.

We all know the trials of the speakerphone. It's easier for you because you can use your hands to multitask. However, for the other caller, it's like trying to hear one voice through a honking crowd of taxis in Manhattan — impossible and frustrating.

Give your customers your full attention, and avoid speakerphone. This will make it easier for both parties to be heard, and it will ensure that you're actually paying attention to them. You may need to use speakerphone at rare occasions, such as when it's a conference call or when you're trying to troubleshoot on the phone. While speakerphone may be appropriate at these times, it's always better to use a headset to remain hands-free.

5. Actively listen, and take notes.

Speaking of paying attention to your customers, it's essential that you're actively listening to them throughout the conversation. Actively listening means hearing everything they have to say and basing your response off of their comments, rather than using a prescribed script. This proves to your customers that you're present and are empathetic to their inconveniences.

It's helpful to take notes during support calls. You'll want to file a record post-conversation, and notes will be immensely helpful. It also ensures that, during long-winded explanations from customers, you can jot down the main points and jump into problem-solving without requiring them to repeat.

6. Use proper language.

The key difference between professional and personal phone calls is obvious — the language. It might be acceptable to use slang and swears when talking on the phone with your friends, but this kind of language can cause you to lose a customer for life.

Always be mindful and respectful when on the phone. You never know what customers might be offended by something you say, so it's best to use formal language. It's okay to throw in humor if appropriate, but never crack a joke that could upset a customer.

7. Remain cheerful.

You never know when a customer is having a bad day. When someone is rude to you on the phone, your immediate reaction may be to put them in your place. First, though, take a moment to step into their shoes and recognize why they're so upset.

The point is to always remain positive and friendly, especially in the face of negativity. Your optimistic outlook may be enough to turn a failing phone call right around. Remind yourself that the last thing your customer probably wanted was to spend their afternoon on the phone with customer support. So, make that call the best it can be, and it may create a loyal, lifetime customer.

8. Ask before putting someone on hold or transferring a call.

There's often nothing more infuriating than being put on hold. After waiting on hold for ten or fifteen minutes to speak with a real-life human being, you finally get to explain your problem. Then, you're immediately put back on hold and then transferred to someone else to whom you must re-explain the whole problem. Talk about exhausting.

However, if you must put a customer on hold or transfer their call, always ask for their permission first. Explain why it's necessary to do so, and reassure them that you — or another employee — are going to get their problem solved swiftly. By keeping your customer in the loop, they'll be less inclined to complain about a long wait time.

9. Be honest if you don't know the answer.

You might need to put a customer on hold or transfer their call if the dreaded occurs — you don't know the solution. Perhaps you've tried everything you can or simply have no idea what they're talking about. Don't panic; customer support representatives are humans, too, and it's okay not to be the omniscient voice of reason.

It's best to admit when you don't know something, rather than making excuses or giving false solutions. However, tell them that you're going to do everything you can to find an answer and get back to them momentarily, or find a co-worker who does know the answer. Customers don't typically expect you to have all the solutions at hand, but they will expect you to be transparent.

10. Be mindful of your volume.

You may be so focused on your phone call with a customer that you're barely paying attention to your present setting. When working in a call center, things can get pretty loud. You always want to be mindful of your volume and ensure that you're not disrupting the ability of your co-workers to speak to customers and get their work done.

If you are on a call that requires you to speak louder due to a bad connection or a hard-of-hearing customer, simply step out of the room and speak with them separately. Your customers are always your main concern, but you don't want to inhibit the work ethic of others in your workplace.

11. Check for and respond to voicemails.

It's quite possible that a customer might reach out to you when you're on a break or after you've left work for the day. If it's possible for you to receive voicemails, make sure you're always checking for them. It's easy for a voicemail to slip under the radar, but the customer won't easily forget.

Start and end each day by checking your voicemail. It takes just a few minutes and can avoid a lost customer support request. Your customers will appreciate your prompt response, and you can get on to doing what you do best — providing knowledgeable and friendly support.

These tips should provide you and your team with basic guidelines for phone etiquette and, if executed properly, your company should see significant improvement in costomer experience.

However, there will be some interactions where these actions may not be enough to defuse the situation. Some customer interactions will require your team to take special measures to ensure you're meeting the customer's immediate and long-term needs. In the next section, we'll break down a few of these scenarios and what you can do to resolve them.

Do You Understand?

As well as speaking clearly when talking on the phone, it is vital to use the right level of formality. If you are too formal, people might find it difficult to feel comfortable when talking to you. If you are too informal, they might think you are being rude!

Generally speaking, when you are calling in a business context (making calls related to employment, finances, law, health or applications of any sort), you should show politeness by using words like:

·         could

·         would

·         can

·         may

when making a request. When you ask for something, or receive help or information, you should use:

·         please

·         thank you 

·         thank you very much.

It is also okay to use some of the informal features of the English language such as short forms, phrasal verbs and words like okay and bye – in other words, everyday English! So phrases like:

If it is more of an informal phone conversation (speaking to a friend, family member, close work colleague or even a friend of a friend), then a high level of formality is usually not required, but you should still speak with a polite manner, as it is seen as respectful.

It’s fine to use less formal phrases in these conversations, such as

·         ‘thanks’

·         ‘cheers’

·         ‘bye’

·         ‘okay’

·         ‘no problem’

Another useful thing to remember is, it’s better to ask for help or clarification when you’re having a telephone conversation, than to pretend you understand something that you didn’t. It is absolutely fine to use phrases like:

·         ‘Could you repeat that please?’

·         ‘Could you speak a little more slowly please?’

·         ‘Would you mind spelling that for me please?’

Using phrases like these will help you to have a more successful phone call, and may save you from any problems later on. You could always say:

·         ‘I’m afraid the line is quite bad’,

if you can’t hear very well.

It also a good idea to practise words, phrases and vocabulary that you might need to use, before the call! So to help you out a little, here is a list of commonly used phrases:

Introduction / Making Contact

If answering a business call, start by introducing yourself or if the caller fails to identify themselves, then you could ask them to state who they are by using the following phrases:

Formal

·         ‘Hello’

·         ‘Good Morning’

·         ‘Good Afternoon’

·         ‘This is ___ speaking’

·         ‘Could I speak to ___ please?’

·         ‘I would like to speak to ___’

·         ‘I’m trying to contact ___’

Informal

·         ‘Hello’

·         ‘Hi, it’s ___ here’

·         ‘I am trying to get in touch with ___’

·         ‘Is ___ there please?’

Giving more information

This would probably be used in a business context mainly, but could sometimes be helpful in an informal conversation too. It is good to specify where you are calling from, if you feel it may be helpful to the person you are calling.

Formal

·         ‘I am calling from ___

·         I’m calling on behalf of ___’

Informal

‘I’m in the post office at the moment, and I just needed ___’

Taking / Receiving a Call

You may need to use these if you are answering someone else’s phone, because they are unable to answer it themselves, or if you are answering an office phone.

Formal

·         ‘Hello, this is ___ speaking’

·         ‘___ speaking, how may I help you?’

Informal

·         ‘Hello, John’s phone’

Asking for more information / Making a request

If you need to ask for a specific person, then phrase your request as a polite question, if you only have an extension number and no name, you can say so. If you’re calling for a specific reason, just explain briefly what it is.

Formal

·         ‘May I ask who’s calling please?’

·         ‘Can I ask whom I’m speaking to please?’

·         ‘Where are you calling from?’

·         ‘Is that definitely the right name/number?’

·         ‘Could I speak to someone who ___?’

·         ‘I would like to make a reservation please’

·         ‘Could you put me through to extension number ___ please?’

Informal

·         ‘Who’s calling please?’

·         ‘Who’s speaking?’

·         ‘Who is it?’

·         Whom am I speaking to?

Asking the caller to wait / Transferring a call

If you are transferring a caller to someone else, you should let them know that you are doing so, just so they know what is happening, as the silent tone could be mistaken for a disconnected line! If you are the one being transferred, you will often hear the person use the following phrases:

Formal

·         ‘Could you hold on a moment please’

·         ‘Just a moment please’

·         ‘Hold the line please’

·         ‘I’ll just put you through’

·         ‘I’ll just transfer you now’

Informal

·          ‘I’m off to a conference, okay, bye’,

• ‘Hang on a moment, I’ll put you through’
• ‘Hold on a minute’

·         ‘Just a minute’

·         ‘Okay, wait a moment please’

are perfectly acceptable, as long as the overall tone of your voice is polite and friendly.

Giving Negative Information

If you are the one answering a call, you might not be able to help the caller. You can use some of the following phrases in these circumstances:

Formal

·         ‘I’m afraid the line is busy at the moment’

·         ‘That line is engaged at the moment, could you call back later please?’

·         ‘I’m afraid ___’s busy at the moment, can I take a message?’

·         ‘I’m sorry, he’s out of the office today’

·         ‘You may have dialled the wrong number’

·         ‘I’m afraid there’s no one here by that name’

Informal

·         ‘Sorry, ___’s not here’

·         ‘___ is out at the moment’

Telephone Problems

If you don’t understand everything the other person is saying, be honest. Tell the other person immediately, otherwise you might miss some important information! Most people will appreciate your honesty, and will be happy to oblige.

Formal

·         ‘I’m afraid I can’t hear you very well’

·         ‘Would you mind speaking up a bit please?’

·         I’m afraid my English isn’t very good, could you speak slowly please?’

·         ‘Could you repeat that please?’

Informal

·         Sorry, I didn’t catch that’

·         ‘Sorry, this line is quite bad’

·          ‘Say that again please?’

·          ‘I can’t hear you very well’

Leaving / Taking a Message

If the person you’re calling is not available, be prepared to leave a message. This could be a voicemail, (which is a digital voice recording system), or an answering machine (this records messages onto a tape). If you’re leaving a message with another person, they’ll either ask if you want to leave a message, or you could request to leave a message with them. Be sure to leave your number, if you want the other person to call you back!

Formal

·         ‘Can I take your name and number please?’

·         ‘Can I leave a message please?’

·         ‘Could you please ask ___ to call me back?’

·         ‘Could you spell that for me please?’

·         ‘Can I just check the spelling of that please?’

Informal

·         ‘I’ll ask him to ring you when ___ gets back’

·         ‘Could you tell ___ that I called please?’

·         ‘I’ll let ___ know that you rang’

Saying Goodbye

The easiest part of the conversation! Simply be polite, and speak with a friendly manner.

Formal

·         ‘Thank you for calling’

·         ‘Have a good day’

·         ‘Goodbye’

Informal

·         ‘Bye!’

·         ‘Talk soon’

·         ‘Speak to you again soon’

Common Phrasal Verbs

1. hold on
means wait

·         ‘Could you hold on a moment please?’

2. hang on
also means wait! (informal)

·         ‘Could you hang on a moment please?’

3. put (a call) through
means to connect one caller to another

·         ‘I’m just going to put you through now.’

4. get through
to be connected to someone on the phone

·         ‘I can’t get through to his line at the moment, could you call back later please?’

5. hang up
means to put the receiver down

·         ‘I think the operator hung up on me, the line just went dead!’

6. call up
is to make a telephone call (mainly used in American English or slang)

·         ‘I’ll call up the theatre, and find out about tickets.’

7. call back
is to return someone’s call

·         ‘I’ll ask him to call you back, when he gets home.’

8. pick up
means to answer a call / lift the receiver to take a call

·         ‘No one is picking up, maybe they’re not at home.’

9. get off (the phone)
means to stop talking on the phone

·         ‘When he gets off the other phone, I’ll pass on your message.’

10. get back to (someone)

means to return someone’s call

·         ‘When do you think she’ll be able to get back to me?’

11. cut off
to be disconnected abruptly during a telephone conversation

·         ‘I think we got cut off, I can’t hear her anymore.’

12. switch off/turn off
is to deactivate (a cell phone/mobile phone)

·         ‘Sorry you couldn’t get through to me. My phone was switched off, because the battery had died.’

13. speak up
means to talk louder

·         ‘I’m afraid I can’t hear you very well, could you speak up a little please?’

Hold on means ‘wait’ – and hang on means ‘wait’ too. Be careful not to confuse hang on with hang up! Hang up means ‘finish the call by breaking the connection’ – in other words: ‘put the phone down.’

Another phrasal verb with the same meaning as hang up is ring off, but this isn’t as commonly used as some of the other phrasal verbs listed above.

The opposite of hang up / ring off is ring up – if you ring somebody up, you make a phone call.  And if you pick up the phone (or pick the phone up), you answer a call when the phone rings.

“Hang on a second…”

If you are talking to a receptionist, secretary or switchboard operator, they may ask you to hang on while they put you through – put through means to connect your call to another telephone. With this verb, the object (you, me, him, her etc.) goes in the middle of the verb: put you through.

But if you can’t get through to (contact on the phone) the person you want to talk to, you might be able to leave a message asking them to call you back.

Call back means to return a phone call – and if you use an object (you, me, him, her, etc.), it goes in the middle of the verb: call you back.

Now you can start making those calls!

Key Points

Remember your manners!

·         It’s very important to be polite on the telephone, use phrases like could you, would you like to, and to make requests, use please. Always remember to finish a conversation with thank you and good bye.

Write it down!

·         If you’re nervous about speaking on the phone in English, then it may be helpful to write a brief script or a few bullet points on that you need to say.

·         If you will be speaking to someone you don’t know, it helps to have things written down in front of you, to calm your nerves!

·         If you have a brief outline of what you need to say, it will help to organise your thoughts beforehand, and to use it as a reference during the call, if you get confused.

Phrasal verbs

·         One thing you could do to improve your telephone skills is to learn some of the phrasal verbs that are commonly used in English telephone conversations.