Effective Phone Skills (English)

Many business people find making and receiving phone calls in English in a professional environment challenging, stressful and even frustrating.  This is because phone calls require a good level of listening skills, but without the additional support of paralinguistic features such as eye contact and gestures.  Pre-preparing what you want to say is of course vital, but what happens if the person at the other end of the phone then asks you questions or tells you something that is ‘off-script’ and you do not understand!

For this level of participant, telephoning is less about learning set telephone expressions and more about solving problems on the phone.

Target group

Directors and Assistant Directors, Managers, sales managers, regional managers, export managers, buyers/purchasing managers, receptionists, including people who have yet to enter the workforce and who intend to work in an international arena. (CEFR: B2/C1)

Content

This short course is very practical (learning by doing) with plenty of opportunity to practise.  Aspects covered include asking for clarification and explanation, tackling everyday problems on the phone, dealing with complaints and managing difficult people on the phone.  Participants will hear examples of phone calls and look at some typical ‘fixed phrases’ that are frequently used in phone calls, as well as studying some complex question forms.

In addition to the above, a needs analysis will be conducted before the course in order to make the programme as relevant as possible to the participants’ requirements. 

Furthermore, the participants will have phone tasks with the trainer: two one-to-one roleplays by phone in order to practise and consolidate the language points that were covered during the course.

Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will have considered ways to diffuse complaints on the phone and how to manage difficult situations.  They will have practised ‘rescue strategies’, enabling them to continue communicating if they struggle to express themselves or understand what the caller is trying to tell them, and practised and developed their capacity to use the phone in a variety of business scenarios.

Duration (6 hours)

• One-to-one with the course tutor (including needs analysis), 1 hour
• FOUR HOURS: 2 sessions, each of 2 hours (online)
• Two phone tasks: roleplay scenarios on the phone with the trainer, each of 30-minutes (including written feedback)