Telephone Etiquette Tips

Although telephone has become one of the necessities of everyday life, people often forget about the etiquettes that need to be followed while making and receiving calls. It is very important to take care of the surroundings, while talking on the telephone, because your conversation might be disturbing, or simply annoying, to the people around you. Telephone etiquette tips not only apply to business calls, following it is also vital if you are talking to your close friends or acquaintances. Go through the following lines and check out the telephone etiquette tips given below.

Common Phone Etiquettes

Do not talk loudly on the phone, especially when you are in a public place. Your words should be audible only to the person on the phone, and not those around you.
Either switch-off or put your phone on a silent mode, when you are in a cinema hall, library, hospital, religious places or other restricted areas, where phone calls are not allowed.
When you are at a business meeting, it is better to put your phone on silent mode.
If you get a call in a meeting, disconnect the phone and call the person after the meeting is over. If the call is urgent, go outside the room and talk.
When you are at your workplace, it is suggested to receive and make calls only during breaks. If it is an important call, you may either decrease your volume or answer the call after leaving your desk.
Do not play loud ring tones at the work or public places. The ring tone may be your favorite, but its loud sound might annoy others around you.
Talk in a polite, cool and friendly tone, when you are on the phone.
Never interrupt a person when he/she is speaking on the phone.
It is always nice to answer business calls with a greeting. Say "Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening", your name, and then proceed.
While attending a business phone, you should be legible - speak slowly and clearly. Speak with confidence, so that the person on the other side has the feeling that you know what you are doing.
While talking on the phone, make sure that you speak quite clearly. Speaking clearly reduces the need to repeat your words time and again.
Avoid eating chewing gum or munching anything else, when you are talking to a person on the phone. It makes hard for the other party to understand what you are saying. It may also annoy the person, as nobody would like to hear eating noises on the phone.
Wrong numbers should be dealt with decently. People often loose their temper, when they receive wrong calls. In such a situation, you should tell the person on the other side, that he/she has dialed a wrong number, in a pleasant manner.
It is considered impolite to hang up without saying goodbye. Unless the person on the other end is being rude or abusive, it is always right to end the call with a greeting - a simple bye!
Never be rude to a caller, even if he/she uses abusive words. In this case, you should disconnect the call wisely. Say something like, "I am sorry, I have to end up the call now", and then hang up.
Whether he/she is your friend, acquaintance, business partner or workplace colleague, you should consider the time of calling a person. Unless it's very urgent, do not disturb a person when he/she is busy.
You should be considerate enough not to call a person during the peak working hours.
Do not put a caller on hold for a long time. If you have to, be sure to check back within few minutes, as to whether he/she would like to continue to be on hold or not.

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