1. ENHANCING INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
& MASTERING TELEPHONE
ETIQUETTE
YON BAHIAH BT WAN ARIS
INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS EXCELLENCE
10& 11TH MARCH 2015
2. PROGRAMME OUTCOMES
• Understand the importance for interpersonal
skills in both professional and personal lives
• Develop interpersonal competence to prepare for
challenges at the workplace and others
• Acquire the right skills and attitudes when
answering telephone
• Determine and apply key telephone etiquette and
communication skills
• Handle and manage difficult customers over the
telephone
3. INTRODUCTION
• The success or failure of an organization depends
highly on the individuals working in it. Within the
organizations, effective communication is required:-
• Internally
• - within the teams
• - across teams
• - within departments and across departments
• Externally
• - suppliers
• - customers
4.
5. Foundations of interpersonal skills
• WHAT?
• A set of skills and abilities needed to effectively
interact and communicate with others
• Ability to get along with others and at the same
time getting tasks completed.
• Ability to convey, translate and interpret
information.
• Involves communication , listening, conflict
resolution , delegation etc
• Simply put , its actually people’s skills.
6. • Characteristic Traits such as Attitudes,
Manners, behavior, appearance when
communicating with others
7. • WHY?
• Changing work environment requires excellent
networking skills.
• Working in a team is a norm; enhance
productivity
• Maintain Personal & Professional relationships
• Able to receive & give feedback
• Able to understand others better
10. activity
• Identify someone at work whom you interact
frequently and you would like to improve your
interpersonal communication. Analyze your
relationship with this individual based on the following
questions:
• - do you have a choice working with this person?
• - how do you classify your relationship?
• - who has more power in this relationship?
• - identify the positive and negative attributes of this
person.
• - has there been disagreements between the two of
you and how do you resolve it?
11. Self awareness
• Realisation of one’s self
• Being aware of own traits, feelings & behavior.
• Types :- Public & Private
12. COMMUNICATION
• Most of us use 70 to
90% of our waking time
communicating..
• Aspects of
communication:
• - Verbal & Non Verbal
• - Oral & Written
18. We communicate in different ways
depending on the message and the context
it is being sent.
19. Verbal
• Choice of words used to send a message.
• Word of mouth or by writing
• For effective verbal communication, keep it
simple and short.
• Involves memos, emails, faxes, blogs, Sms,
watsapp, twitter etc
• Influenced by choice of words, tone of voice,
speed, clarity of voice.
• Adv: fast feedback, can interpret,
20. Before you speak, let your words pass through
three gates.
• At the first gate, ask yourself,
• ‘Is it true?’
• At the second gate, ask,
• ‘Is it necessary?’
• At the third gate, ask,
• ‘Is it kind?’
• - Sufi saying
21. Non Verbal
• Non Verbal communication- Communication
without the use of words
• Includes
• eg Body language , gestures, postures,
remaining silence, voice intonation and use of
silence ---- often sends a louder message to
other people than the words we say.
22. • Studies show that during interpersonal
communication only 7% of message is verbal;
while 93% is non verbal.
• Nonverbal skills must be practiced so that we
can be sure that we are actually sending the
message that we intend to send.
23.
24. Fluency in non-verbal communication can
be as powerful a tool as masterful
negotiating techniques or expert
salesmanship.
• Joe Navarro
25. listening
• One of the most important communication
skill.
• Sometimes we think we are listening when in
actual fact we are Not.
• Listening takes practice and requires us to be
focus.
• How is listening different from hearing?
29. Barriers to listening
• State of mind – Are you ready to listen? attitude
& emotional state of mind of listener
• Bias/ Prejudices on speaker
• Languages used – slang, accent etc
• Short span of attention – “wandering mind”
• Noise
• Frequent interruptions
• Too much information – message overload
• Impatient – too eager to speak
30.
31. Tips to effective listening
• Appropriate eye contact
• Open mind – willing to listen & accept ideas
from others
• Empathy for speaker
• No interruptions
• Feedback (Verbal & Non verbal)
33. Tips to improve interpersonal skills
• Smile ( universal languagw; one smile makes
two.
• Communicate with clarity.
• Be honest when expressing your opinions.
• Compliment sincerely.
• Practice assertiveness.
35. Telephone etiquette
• Telephone is an important means of
communication as most businesses are still
conducted via the telephone.
• Company’s image/reputation is projected
through daily telephone communications.
• As such, it is important to communicate
professionally as well as effectively through the
telephones.
• Need to be fully aware of how we talk
& behave over the phone.
36. • Antonio Ejoh HR analyst at Venture Grade group
Antonio Ejoh HR analyst at Venture Grade group
37. • Each phone call is an attempt to communicate
between 2 parties, to impart and receive
information.
• Communication can be ineffective if
telephone etiquette is not observed.
38. • Listening is an integral
aspect of telephone
etiquette.
• As mentioned earlier,
some people have
problems with listening.
• However with practice,
we can get better.
• With two ears and one
mouth, are we using
them proportionately?
39. • Need to apply active
listening to tell customers
that you care about what
he/she has to say.
• Need to clarify what the
message communicated
to ensure that you fully
understand it.
• This means that you
confirm the message in
your own words.
40. • Eg:
• You: May I have your
telephone number
please, Encik Razak?
• Caller: 50243811
• You: So Encik Razak,
your telephone number
is 50 243 811.. Is that
correct???
41. When using the telephone
• Need to:
• 1. listen carefully
• 2. listen actively
• 3. reduce talking
42. Basic elements of professional
telephone beavior
• Pay attention to caller & Stop doing whatever
it is you were doing before receiving the call.
• Concentrate on what the caller is trying to say.
43.
44. Golden rules when telecommunicating
• Answer within 3 rings.
• Sit with appropriate
posture.
• Greet and identify
yourself.
• Smile.. even if caller
can’t see you.( a smile
can be heard over the
phone)
45. • Speak clearly no need
to shout.
• Use proper tone of
voice, should sound
friendly and
enthusiastic.
• Seek permission if you
need to put caller on
hold. (don’t put on hold
for more than 30
seconds)
46. • Ensure that caller is
aware that his call has
been transferred &
make sure call is
answered.
• Be a good listener ,
don’t interrupt.
• Take messages
correctly.. verify
47. • Personalize conversation
by using the caller’s name
eg: thank you Prof Mala
for calling us. If caller has
a title, refer to him/her by
he title.
• Listen to the end.. Don’t
hang up before the caller.
• End call courteously; use
magic words.
48. Negative phrases Positive phrases
“what you want, huh?” “How may I help you?”
“En Dollah has gone back “. En Dollah is currently not in. How can I
assist you?
“I don’t know..not sure lah”. “Let me check and get back to you”.
“ Who is that?” “ May I know who is on the line?”
