Telephone Etiquette - If you made the call:-
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- Introduce yourself to the person who answers the phone.
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- Use appropriate language and remember you could be on speaker phone.
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- Always be courteous to secretaries and receptionists. They can make your life really difficult if they think you are being rude.
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- If you are calling someone who you consider to be your social equivalent, do not have your secretary call them and tell them to hold on for you. Make the call yourself!
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- Do not leave mission critical messages on answering machines. You never know who will hear them.
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- Be careful about leaving intimate messages on answering machines.
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- Do not leave messages that are confidential, potentially damaging or subject to incorrect interpretation on a voice mail system.
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- Leave concise short messages with the time and the date.
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- Be careful of rude messages or messages in jest.
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- Do not interupt in a conference call - wait for your chance to contribute.
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- Be sure to tell the participants that you are leaving a conference call.
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- Say goodbye! Don't just hang up or worse slam the phone down.
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- Don't make conference call or any calls for that matter from noisy places like factories, workshops or TV rooms.
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Telephone Etiquette - If you are receiving the phone call:-
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- Be sure to somehow identify where you are answering from. For example "Hello, this is Ralph Jones!" Don't just say "yes" or "yeah".
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- Be circumspect with greeting messages on answering machines.
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- Repeating forwarding phone numbers can be a help.
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- Use a short clear message. People making international calls are not interested in a lengthy speech on "the state of the nation."
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