TIP #1
Let's begin with a simple situation. The phone rings (Ring-a-ling!) and the caller asks for you by name. You say: "Speaking."
This is appropriate for any phone call, business or personal.
Please don't say something like: "Yeah. That's me."
TIP #2
Now the phone rings (Ring-a-ling!) and the caller asks for someone you don't know. Obviously, they have the wrong number.
The simplest and most polite response is: "I'm sorry. You have the wrong number."
If you're in the workplace, you could say: "I'm sorry. There's no one here by that name."
TIP #3
(Ring-a-ling!) If you answer the phone and it's a call for another person in your home or office, you can say one of two things:
1) If the person is able to talk, say: "One moment. May I ask whose calling, please?"
2) If the person is not able to talk, say: "I'm sorry. She isn't available right now. May I take a message?"
Less formal would be: "I'm sorry. He can't come to the phone right now. Would you like to leave a message?"
TIP #4
(Ring-a-ling!) You answer the phone, but you really don't have the time to talk. What do you tell the caller?
If it's a business call, you can say: "I'm very sorry. I'm not really able to talk right now. Could I return your call later?"
If it's a friend, you can say:"Hey! How ya doin'? Listen. Can I call you back?"
TIP #5
The caller said something that you didn't hear or didn't understand.
If it's a business call, you can say: "I'm sorry. Could you please repeat that?"
If it's a personal call, you can say: "I'm sorry. I didn't catch that."
Please don't say something like: "HUH? Whadja say?"
TIP #6
Often you need to end the conversation, so what can you say?
If it's a friend, you can say: "Hey, listen. I'm sorry, but I gotta go right now. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
You might add: "Take care!"
If it's a business call, it's fine to say something like this: "I'm so sorry. I'm afraid I have to go now, but I'm glad we got the chance to talk. Perhaps we can talk again sometime soon...say next week?"
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