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When you join a company, you will often be taught how to answer the phone and how to respond to the phone at the beginning of new employee training.
Telephone correspondence is said to be the basics of business , but it is also true that there are some things that are not suitable for it.
Even if you are accustomed to work, there are many people who have the problem of not being able to answer the phone well.
In this article, we will introduce the reasons why you feel that you are not good at answering the phone , and how to overcome your weak awareness .
Why you can’t answer the phone well
People who are not good at answering phone calls can be broadly divided into two types: people who are not good at speaking and people who are not good at talking on the phone .
Since telephone conversations require different skills than face-to-face conversations, it seems that it may amplify the perceived weakness .
We have summarized the points that are easy to feel “difficult” in answering the phone .
I’m nervous and can’t speak well
Many of the reasons why people feel that they are not good at speaking are due to nervousness.
I get calls on my company phone from people I don’t even know.
Some of the calls are from executives and customers of business partners, and I think that there are times when I get overly nervous because I don’t want to be rude.
Moreover, if you think that your boss or colleagues are listening at the side in the office, you may not be able to speak well.
Especially when you first join the company, you may feel very nervous, but as you get used to the company environment and human relationships, you will be able to relax and respond.
I don’t understand the content of the other person’s story or the meaning of the question
Even if you receive an inquiry, you may not be able to answer unless you are in charge.
Even if you try to confirm with someone, you may not know what to do because you cannot explain well unless you use technical terms or do not understand the meaning of the question itself.
Since the content of the call is related to work, it is natural that you will not understand it at first.
As your business knowledge increases and you become more confident, you will be able to predict what you will be asked on the phone, and you will be able to listen calmly to what the other person is saying, even if you are hearing something for the first time.
I am not good at responding quickly
If someone asks you a question or asks you to make a decision and you can’t answer immediately, it may feel awkward and awkward.
I think there are times when I think too much about the best phrases that are appropriate for the occasion, and the words don’t come out.
However, when answering the phone , it is better to be a little cautious to convey the correct information to the other party than to say something inappropriate on the spot , so don’t worry too much.
Losing the trust of the other party is a bigger loss in business than losing the tempo of the conversation.
I can’t use the correct honorifics
If you are not used to using honorifics, words will not come out smoothly.
Also, the world is flooded with incorrect honorifics and customer service terms, and I sometimes doubt whether the honorifics I’m using are really correct.
In fact, it’s rare that you get offended by a small mistake in honorifics, so even if it’s not perfect, it’s okay if you respond wholeheartedly.
Unfamiliar with telephone procedures
In the company, there will be an intermediary for calls addressed to other employees.
Depending on the situation of the person in charge, you may be required to respond flexibly, and you may find it a little difficult.
Business telephone brokerage has almost a fixed pattern, so if you remember the procedure and the names of members in the same department, you can standardize the correspondence to some extent.
Confused about how to operate a business phone
When making a call, there are operations such as putting the call on hold and transferring it to another call.
However, office phones have many buttons and are different from mobile phones and home phones in terms of usability.
When responding to incoming calls, it is sufficient to be able to do three things at first : “take a call”, “hang up”, and “hold” .
Let’s memorize the other operations little by little.
How to overcome the feeling of not being good at answering the phone
As long as you have a job, answering the phone is inevitable.
If you continue to respond with a sense of weakness , your work will become difficult.
In this chapter, I tried to collect hints to overcome the perception that I am not good at answering phones .
Check your phone’s operating manual
We recommend that you read the manual for your phone so that you don’t get lost in the operation while answering the phone .
Business phones are equipped with functions such as extension calls, transfer, and abbreviated dialing.
It may be difficult to learn all of them at once, but use your free time to check the operation of the functions you want to use.
It is also recommended to keep an operation guide and extension number table near the telephone.
always take notes
In a telephone agency, while talking with the other party, you have to listen to information such as “Who called from?” “Who is it addressed to ?” yeah.
It’s surprisingly common to forget someone’s name in the middle of a conversation, but you probably don’t like it when the other person has to say their name over and over again.
In addition, if there is an omission or omission in the content of the message, you may lose credibility in your work.
When answering the phone, it’s okay to scribble, so be sure to get into the habit of taking notes.
Use wrap when you don’t understand the content
If you can’t understand what the other person is saying, or if you can’t judge and answer on your own, you don’t have to answer right away.
Rather than trying to solve the problem on your own and making the wrong decision, do your research before answering, or seek guidance from your supervisor or person in charge.
However, it is not possible to keep the other party waiting for a very long time.
If you want time to investigate or consult, tell the other party , “I will call you back after confirming,” and respond by returning it, so you can secure time for confirmation.
Learn the procedures for handling orders
The general procedure for transferring a company phone call to another person is as follows.
- When the other party has designated a person in charge, check the presence status.
- If you are in the company, ask the person in charge if you can take the call, and if it is OK, transfer the call.
- If the person in charge is not available, tell the other party to that effect, ask about the business, and leave a message to the person in charge.
- When the person in charge returns, respond by calling back to the other party
In business telephone brokerage, it is almost impossible to deviate greatly from this flow, so if you remember this pattern, you will not be afraid of brokerage.
Also, if you remember the names of the business partners that the salesperson is in charge of and the names of the people who often call you, you will be able to respond more precisely.
Get rid of speech complex
If you are worried about how you speak, such as “I hate my voice” or “I bite right away” , you may feel a stronger complex when answering the phone .
If you are too conscious of how you speak, your voice will become dark and you will not be able to speak confidently.
It’s best not to think too much, but if you’re worried about your complex and can’t speak well, it’s a good idea to take training in articulating your tongue or attending a speaking class.
It may not only be an opportunity to overcome your complex, but it may also expand your network and make new discoveries.
Think positive even if you fail
If you take it too seriously , saying, “You must never make a mistake in answering the phone ,” answering the phone will become a pain.
Even if you can’t make a perfect response by strictly adhering to phone etiquette, as long as the person in charge can clearly understand what you’re doing, you’ll pass the call .
Don’t worry if you made a mistake or didn’t respond smoothly.
“Canario” is recommended for those who cannot or are not good at dealing with electric couples.
If you are not good at answering the phone or you can’t handle it well, why do n’t you consider creating a system that eliminates the need to answer the phone ?
The call forwarding service “Canario” introduced by NEC Networks & System Integration is a groundbreaking service in which AI performs the primary response and intermediation of calls on behalf of employees.
Since the name of the person in charge is determined by voice recognition and the call is forwarded, the other party can automatically transfer the call to the person in charge simply by speaking as usual.
If the person in charge is absent, the message will be converted into text and a message memo will be created.
Eliminating the telephone brokerage time for employees has many benefits, such as greatly improving work efficiency and reducing overtime hours.
Article Summary
I summarized the reasons why I feel that I am not good at answering phone calls at the company and how to overcome them.
Most of the reasons why you feel “difficult” or “impossible” to answer the phone can be compensated by getting used to the work and accumulating knowledge.
It is not uncommon for people who were not good at answering phones to become good at it while doing their jobs.
There is also a convenient call forwarding service that allows AI to handle phone calls .