Construct

Effective Communication

People communicate in different ways and situations with different people everyday. Effective communication is extremely important for the success of any business. Often, when we communicate with others, the message that we think we are giving out is quite different to the way that someone else receives it. It is not surprising that sometimes communication breaks down, and as a consequence, mistakes are made.

How good are your communication skills? Complete this communication quiz ¹ to find out.

Communication
Telephone Etiquette

Effective communication is important for the success of all businesses.

Consider The 7 Cs of Communication² as a starting point.

Task 1

Task 2

Speaking to people on the phone is just as important as speaking to them face to face. First impressions on the phone are very important to any business and being courteous and pleasant to customers is essential in good customer relations. Good telephone etiquette⁴ is important for effective communication.

Task

Points to Consider

Consider the following features of good telephone etiquette in your task:
1. greeting callers
  1. answer call promptly
  2. use polite greeting
  3. identify the workplace/organisation
  4. identify yourself using ‘This is’ and name
  5. offer assistance
2. courteous language
3. friendly tone
4. clear articulation
5. audible volume
6. accurate relaying of messages.
Create details of employee name, business name, customer name, product purchased and issue at hand.
Remember that if the customer is angry, your job is to keep your cool and to calm down the angry customer. Apologise for the customer’s distress by using reassuring phrases such as: ‘I understand how you feel’ and ‘I see’, and make them feel that you will attend to the issue.
Assume there is no one to answer the call and you wll have to take the responsibility of handling the situation.

A complaint handled on the telephone should be no different to one handled face to face. A complaint indicates the possibility that the customer may go to your competitor in the future, but if you handle the complaint correctly, you can retain the customer and even increase their loyalty, winning new customers for your business.

⁷

Communication via the web.

Construct

Effective Communication

Links