Taking calls is an important skill in everyday life. Professional situations, such as a business call or a call from the company you are applying for a job, can call you in a more formal setting. If you receive a call from a friend, crush, or family member, it's best to respond more casually and naturally. If you answer a call from an unknown number or a private number, it is best to receive it in a more polite and careful manner.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Receiving a Call at the Office
Step 1. Keep it professional
When you get a call at work, you don't always know who's calling you. Receiving a call in a professional manner will start the conversation right.
- When in doubt, respond with a simple greeting, “Hello, with the Word here.”
- Even though you can see the phone number coming in, it could be your boss calling on your coworker's cell phone! Received a call saying, “Hey, what the hell?” can give a negative and not serious impression.
Step 2. Focus on the conversation
Be truly "in" the conversation. Stop whatever you're doing and take a little time to get ready.
- Put on the face you want to project before picking up the phone. You'll make a difference if you smile, frown, or feel bored because the caller can hear it in your tone of voice.
- Try not to click anything on the internet or distract yourself when you're on a call. If you don't listen, the caller can find out.
Step 3. Name yourself first
In a business situation, the procedure for receiving a call begins by stating your name and the company you work for: “Good morning, thank you for contacting PT. A B C. With Dance. Anything I can help?"
- If the incoming call is from within the company, and you know it, you can accept it by stating your department and name: “Hello, with finance, Dance here. Anything I can help?" This greeting will show that the caller is connected to the right person, and that you are ready to help. Keep your tone of voice friendly so that the call is more pleasant for both parties.
- In many office situations, there are guidelines for taking calls that every employee must follow. Always show that you're sincere, no matter how silly your greetings are – consumers will be able to tell whether you sound excited or just reading the greetings: “Welcome to the Tofu House, the home of all tofu!” it will sound ridiculous if you don't say it with conviction.
Step 4. Accept it with the appropriate level of politeness
Be patient, respectful, and pleasant. Do your best to help the caller. Try not to talk too casually until you figure out who is calling.
- If the caller doesn't introduce himself, say, "May I know who I'm talking to?". It's important to know who's calling just in case you have to call them back or connect them to another phone. This expression also lets the caller know that he or she is being treated politely, and that he or she is an important person. It's important to build good working relationships with people who contact you more than once.
- Try not to sound rude, even if you're upset. Remember that in work situations, your words and actions reflect the company you work for. If you damage your company's name, your business may fail-and your boss won't take it lightly.
Step 5. Get ready to take note of the message
If someone calls to talk to your boss or co-worker, but you're the only one there to take the call, politely ask who's calling and ask what's up. Listen carefully and record as much relevant information as possible:
- If the person they want to contact can't answer the call, say, “Sorry, but Pak Bambang is not in his office right now. May I take down the message?”
- Be sure to note down the name, phone number, and reason for calling. Measure the urgency of the call-does the caller sound like he has business to attend to in the next two hours, or a week? If the call is an important business call, you should handle the matter as quickly and efficiently as possible – so make sure you get the message out of the way as soon as possible.
Step 6. Be wary of calls seeking company information
If you don't recognize the caller, and he or she asks for details about you and another co-worker, be careful not to give out too much of your company's internal information.
- Even if the caller tells you their name and company, you should still be careful unless they are a trusted caller. If you're not sure, put off the call for a minute and ask your co-worker for advice: “Did we have business with Mr. Haris before? He asked a lot of questions about the work process and capacity of this company, and I wanted to make sure he was a trusted person.”
- In a business situation, say “I'm sorry, sir/ma'am. Our company policy prohibits us from providing such information. May I know why you need it?” and make your judgment about the person from there.
Method 2 of 3: Receiving Private Phone Calls
Step 1. Customize greetings based on who is calling
If you know who is calling you, based on the name on the phone and your experience, please address the person as if you were meeting in person. If you don't know who's calling, take the call more formally and wait for the caller to say what he meant.
- For the standard internationally accepted greeting, say, “Hello?”. Pick up the phone in a slightly raised voice at the end of your greeting, like a questioning tone. "Hello?" This will make the caller respond to your greeting, and in most cases, will explain why he called.
- If your friend is calling, say hello casually: “Hey, Jono! How are you, buddy?"
- If your supervisor, acquaintance, or potential employer calls, greet them more politely, but with a little familiarity: “Good afternoon, Mr. Sungkar. How are you?"
- If you don't know who's calling, say something as simple as, "Hello?"
Step 2. After you say “Hello?
, wait for the answer. When you say “Hello?”, you are asking the caller to introduce himself. Take a look at the example below (your words bold, and the caller's words are italicized:
- "Hello?"
- "Hi, Jono, this is Tono."
- "Oh, hi Tono! Why, buddy?"
- "No, I just wanted to ask if you have an event tonight? I want to watch the "Star Wars" movie, here."
- "Would you like to watch "Star Wars"! It's crazy if you don't!"
Step 3. Create your greeting
As you become more experienced with receiving phone calls, you can begin to develop greeting patterns and phrases that you use over and over again.
- Consider identifying yourself with a greeting such as: “Hello, this is Jono” or “Jono is here”.
- Consider getting creative with informal variations of “Hello?”: “Hey!”, “Haiyah!”, “Hey, how are you?”, or “Hey, where have you been?”. This informal greeting is suitable for receiving calls from friends and non-professional acquaintances.
Step 4. Set up voicemail to use when you can't take calls
Anyone from friends to family to your boss will likely hear your voicemail from time to time, so make sure you record it politely and without further ado. Stay away from pranks or pranks unless you're sure that only your friends will call.
- Say, “This is Jono's voicemail. Sorry I can't pick up the phone right now. Please leave a message and I will call back as soon as possible.”
- Consider setting up a family voice recording if you use a landline. Say, “Hello this is with the Jono family. Sorry we can't pick up the phone right now. Please leave a message and we will call back as soon as possible!”. You can have fun with this family recording-try to get all your family members to talk at the same time, or have your family members say part of the message individually.
- Consider asking the caller to provide details about himself, rather than simply asking him to leave a message: "Please state your name, phone number and purpose of calling, and I'll call you back as soon as possible." This more specific method is more suitable for your phone number that usually receives a lot of business calls.
Method 3 of 3: Receiving Phone Calls from Unknown Numbers
Step 1. Think about who might be calling you
If you're waiting for a call from anyone-a new acquaintance, your organization, or a potential employer-take the call with a thought. Assess whether the call is a little more formal or less formal-but choose to be formal, just in case.
- Answer politely and semi-formally, in this case. Simple greetings like “Hello?” can be used. You don't have to identify yourself directly-if the caller knows you personally, or has your name on the list, he or she may ask: “Hello, can I speak to Jono?”
- If the call says “unknown” or “blocked”, you don't have to answer the call. Pick up the phone, if you prefer, or wait to see if the caller left a message on voice mail or not. You can call him back if you have important business.
Step 2. Beware of nosy calls
If you get a call and the call turns out to be silly and offensive, it's probably just a prank call. Some nosy callers are usually vulgar and obvious, but other nosy callers will try to trick you into thinking the call is very important. Deal with nosy callers the same way you handle bullies: if you keep quiet and follow their nagging, they'll feel like they've won. It might be helpful to keep quiet and pretend to be in a trap, if you can guess who's calling. Several telephone companies in America offer call tracking services: if you dial *69 after hanging up, the automated messaging service will send public information about the number that last called you.
Step 3. Beware of telemarketers
If you receive a call from an unknown number and the person calling you starts asking about you, he may be trying to get your money.
- Telemarketers call dozens of people every day, and most of them are not interested in what the telemarketer is selling. Don't feel guilty by saying, “Thanks, but I'm not interested. Good afternoon”, then hang up the phone. Don't waste your time and time.
- If you do not wish to receive calls from this company, ask the telemarketer to put your number on their “Do Not Call” list. Most companies will do what you want, and they won't bother you anymore.
- If you are interested in what the telemarketer is selling, please respond to the call and listen to the tone. Remember that the longer you respond to them, the more they will try to sell you their product!
- If he wants to talk to you or another family member, ask him to state his name and organization before saying anything – lest you give the telemarketer too much information! If he's secretive and won't reveal his identity, keep that in mind-you don't have to respond.
Tips
- "Hello?" is the number one greeting. Your greeting will always sound polite by saying, “Hello?”, whether the caller is a friend, lover, mother, boss, local police officer, or a stranger.
- “Caller ID” can be useful. If you can find out who's calling before you pick up, you can be better prepared for the call.
- " What ?" or "Huh?" It's not a good way to take a call, even if you don't like the caller or you're in a bad mood. Behave well when you're on a call.
