Last week, GovLoop and YGL hosted a half day training event for up and coming government leaders, who heard from experts on the topics of career management, leadership, communications, and more. One of the sessions, titled “Become a Brilliant Communicator,” provided tips on communicating via email and telephone, giving and receiving feedback, and holding successful meetings. Today’s post provides tips to help you transform your telephone calls.
When starting a call, don’t just jump right in to business – start with a warm up. Ask how the other person’s day is going, or check in on something they’ve been doing at work or in their personal life (if you know them well enough.) Before you start the call, have an agenda in mind and write it down for your reference. A written agenda can help you stay on task and accomplish everything you need to on the call.
If the call is a scheduled one, set a time limit, and use your written agenda to stay on track. If your scheduled call is going long, let the other person know that you have to wrap up and ask if you can continue the call later or follow up via email if you need more time. If you get a call when you’re under deadline, ask to re-schedule at a later time, so you can give the person your full attention and not put yourself under anymore stress.
When ending your call, be sure to summarize what you discussed and determine action items – what they are and when they need to be completed. Finally, make sure the business part is over – ask something like “Is there anything else I can help you with?”. This will ensure that you’ve covered everything and wrap up the call.
We’ve provided you with a few tips to help you transform your telephone calls. What would you change or add to our list?
Become a Brilliant Communicator Blog Series:
Part 1: Become a Brilliant Communicator
Part 2: Excel at Email
Part 3: Transform Your Telephone Calls
Part 4: Improve How You Take and Receive Criticism
Part 5: Stop Wasting Time in Meetings
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