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The company receives many calls on a daily basis.
There are not many days when we do not answer the phone, such as inquiries from customers, confirmation of meetings with business partners, and sometimes complaints.
However, some people who answer the phone feel that they are not good at it because they cannot hear the other person’s voice.
If you can’t hear the voice, you won’t be able to understand the other person’s name or the content of the conversation, and it will take time to confirm.
It’s not uncommon for both of us to lose time and feel depressed.
Therefore, in this article, we will introduce appropriate coping methods for people who are not good at listening to the other party’s voice on the phone.
We will also look at the necessary preparations and tips to avoid being in a situation where you cannot hear your voice, so please use it.
I can’t hear the other person’s voice when answering the phone… Many people feel that they are not good at it! What is the cause?
Unlike face-to-face communication, the telephone must be spoken through the handset.
The handset picks up not only the voice of the person speaking, but also ambient noise, breathing sounds, and reverberations in a room.
For this reason, if the other party’s voice is soft or the surroundings are noisy, it will be difficult to hear the other party’s voice on the phone.
In addition, many people feel that they have to speak without seeing the other person’s face, and even if they cannot hear it, it is difficult to hear them afterwards.
Some people may be thinking, “Isn’t it rude to ask someone about something they couldn’t catch?”
In fact, if you use appropriate language, it’s not rude to listen to what the other person is saying, but you may be so impatient that you have to listen to what the other person is saying in one call, and you may not be able to hear what they are saying. There may be.
It’s okay if you know what to do when you can’t hear the other person’s voice
As mentioned above, if you can’t hear the other person’s voice while answering the phone, there is no problem if you listen again with the appropriate wording.
Here, let’s check what to do when you can’t hear the other party’s voice, and start answering phone calls at your company.
Conversation starts after confirming the other party’s name
It is very important to confirm who contacted you from which company when answering the phone.
In business calls, it is common for the caller to state his or her company name and name before moving on to the main topic, but there may be cases where it is difficult to understand what is being said. In this case, it is NG to postpone the confirmation.
If you don’t know the company name or name, or if the name is incorrect, the other party may feel uncomfortable, so be sure to check it first.
A good phrase would be something like, “Thank you for your help. Thank you for calling. Excuse me. Could you tell me your name again?”
It’s a good idea to be empathetic to convey that you’re sorry that you couldn’t hear.
If you can’t hear it, try listening to the kanji.
If you can’t understand the other person’s company name or name again, ask them to write it in kanji.
All you have to do is say, “I’m sorry to trouble you, but could you tell me the kanji for your name?”
Even if you can’t catch the other person’s company name or name until the end, or if you don’t know how to read it because it’s difficult to read, you can check who the other party was by writing down the kanji.
Tell the other person what part you can’t hear
If you can’t hear the other person’s voice accurately when answering the phone, let the other person know what part you couldn’t hear.
If you proceed with the conversation with vague information, it will be rude to the other party, and there are cases where you forget to confirm the correct information, so it is important to respond as early as possible.
For example, if you are notified of the schedule of a meeting to be held at a later date, and you can hear the date but not the time, you can ask, “Excuse me, but what time will the meeting start on MM/DD?” Good.
You can listen to the implementation time again, and you can also check the implementation date.
Repeat and confirm the information heard
Make a note of the information you hear while answering the phone, and repeat it at the end to check it.
If what you repeat is wrong, the other person will correct it, so there is no problem.
As a way of saying, “I will repeat it, is it correct that the joint meeting with XX company is scheduled from XX o’clock on △ month x day?”
If you are not good at it, be prepared to answer the phone without rudeness.
If you are not good at answering the phone, be prepared before picking up the phone.
Here, you will be able to digest the necessary preparations and tips to handle phone calls without being rude to the other party, so please refer to them.
Adjust the volume of the handset
Some people who are not good at answering the phone use the handset volume to a low level. If the volume is low, you may not be able to hear if the other party’s voice is low.
If you increase the volume blindly, it will be difficult to hear your voice, so it is important to adjust the volume to suit you.
It is a good idea to set a basic volume for yourself and set it to that volume before starting to answer the phone.
Of course, there is no problem even if you change the volume according to the situation at that time while answering the phone.
Answer the phone in the quietest possible environment
If you are not good at answering the phone, we recommend that you do so in a quiet environment as much as possible.
You can easily hear the other party’s voice even if you just pick up the phone in a state where there is little ambient noise.
If you have to use your company’s landline phone, it’s a good idea to close the windows and doors to keep out the noise.
One way to deal with this is to ask other employees to help you and lower the volume of the conversation.
The trick is to speak slowly and loudly
Some people who are not good at answering the phone speak quickly or keep their voices low because they lack self-confidence.
However, if you speak in such a voice, the impression will be bad, and the other person may be annoyed, and you may speak faster or lower your voice.
For this reason, it is important to speak slowly and loudly when answering the phone.
If you answer slowly and loudly, the other person will often agree with you, so if you are not good at answering the phone because you can’t hear the other person’s voice, please try it.
wear polite language
If you can’t hear what the other person is saying while answering the phone, it’s not rude to ask again, but it’s important to ask politely.
For example, it is very rude to the other party to ask back, “What?”, “Yes?”
It is recommended to use words that do not blame the other party, such as “I’m sorry. It seems that the signal is not good… Could you repeat that?”
summary
Some people who are not good at answering the phone feel uneasy about not being able to hear the other person’s voice.
However, even if you can’t hear well, you can ask again with polite language and there will be no problem.
Be sure to repeat important information to make sure you have heard it correctly.
It is also important to change the volume of the handset to suit you, and answer the phone slowly and loudly.
If you can’t overcome the feeling that you’re not good at answering the phone, or if you often can’t hear your voice even after handling the number of calls, you can use “Canario”, a service that AI responds to incoming calls and transfers them to the person in charge. Consider using it.