Telephone Communication Skills (cont'd)
Good phone communications means being prepared for a call. It means keeping a pad of paper and a pen close to every phone in your home or office so that you do not have to search for these items while trying to listen and respond (distracting you from the business at hand). You will use this pad of paper not only to take down directions to the interview location, but also to jot down questions or issues that result from the call (to be addressed at the interview).

Good communications of any sort means providing a sense of interest and attention to your speaker, and one of the easiest ways to achieve a positive verbal tone on the phone is to smile when speaking. Try it. Listen to how you say, "Hello," with a relaxed expression versus how this "Hello" sounds when you are smiling.

Once you feel that your telephone communication skills are up to snuff, have a friend call you and do a mock interview. Do not have them tell you when they will be calling, in advance, because the element of surprise is an inherent aspect to most interview phone calls. Have your friend ask you a series of relevant and appropriate questions, including establishing an interview date and time (do not forget to get directions to the company's office).

While your friend is interviewing you, have them take notes regarding their impressions of your responses, questions, and the quality of your verbal communication skills. If possible, tape or have your caller tape the phone call and review it. What does your voice and communication skills say to you? What do you hear that could use some improvement?

Before you send out résum?submissions, invest in a telephone answering machine (if you don't already own one or cannot borrow one) or contact your telephone company to temporarily set up voice mail service.

Use your good verbal communication skills and create an answering message that is clear, concise, and professional. We have found that the following works well: "You have reached Joe Smith at 234-5678. I am unable to take your call at the moment, but your call is very important to me. Please leave a brief message and a number where I may reach you, and I will return your call as soon as possible. Thank you for calling."

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