Professional Phone Etiquette : Taking Good Phone Messages

Original video source: E-how: http://www.ehow.com/video_4401591_taking-good-phone-messages.html
On Youtube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00m1mQFF5zo
 
Aim and procedure: students listen to the famous lady in red as she advices on how to take a message.
I have posted the question under the video.

You can download both the video and a photocopiable worksheet with questions by clicling  HERE





Questions:
1. If you answer the telephone for another person or you have to take a message, what information do you have to get?

2. The information you get must be ……………………..

3. How do you ensure that you get the information correctly?

4. According to the lady in red, what else is very important when taking messages?

5. What is the sentence you can use to finish the conversation when taking a message?

Video Transcript
Alright, now let's talk about taking messages. And your whole job might be about taking messages, or you might just simply answer the phone for another person, and you'll need to take a message for them. It is absolutely crucial that you get a certain amount of information from the person on the other end of the phone. And the information must be accurate. You need to have their name, the business that they're calling from, if that's applicable, the telephone number, and a brief message. Now, I said it is crucial that this information be accurate. Well, how do you make sure it's accurate? You repeat it. "Okay, this is John Smith from XYZ Corporation, and your phone number is 872-939-4086, and you want to talk to Bob about the planning meeting on Friday. Okay, great. I'll make sure that he gets the message." And then, you have to make sure that that person gets the message. It's very, very important that business messages not get dropped through the cracks. So take accurate information and pass the message on, immediately, not three days later, but immediately after you record the message.