Have you ever called someone and could tell they were smiling through the phone? Have you ever thought about what you may be physically doing, on the other end, the receiver is aware?  Well, you should not only keep this in mind in your personal calls, buy more importantly in business calls.

Here are a few helpful tactics when conducting business calls:

Do’s…

• State your name and the company that you are calling from. Also, if you know what department or individual you are trying to reach ask for that specifically. Saying, “Um, I was trying to see if……..” will only agitate the very busy person on the other line. State who you are and your purpose for calling as quickly and clearly as possible.
• If you are calling an individual personally be sure to ask if it is a good time to talk before going into a long conversation regarding your purpose. If it is not a convenient time be sure to ask for alternative times that will work and call back at that time.
• Always have a plan.  When you make the initial call treat the call as if you were in a meeting.  Have a clear agenda and purpose for the call. If this is a scheduled call, be prepared and sitting at your desk.  Don’t make this harder than it has to be. In other words Do Your Homework!
• Take notes! Have a pen and paper ready to jot down important notes.
• Be sure to always be courteous and respectful, it goes a long way!

Don’ts…

• Attempt to work on other task while you are on the call.  Your focus should be on the conversation. You may not realize how loud the keys on your cell phone are while texting and attempting to talk on the phone at the same time.
• Don’t rattle papers during the call.  This gives the receiver the impression that you are not listening and are preoccupied.
• Remove gum, candy, cough drops, etc. from your mouth.  It isn’t polite to chew in someone’s ear.
• Cut down on all background noise if possible, this includes computer clicks, outside traffic, tweets, etc.