I believe that good manners start at home. When we treat our family members with respect, they learn how to treat others in the same way. When our family members see us exercising good manners, they learn and are encouraged to do the same.
A great place to start with good manners is the way we answer our phones! It’s pretty simple, but I believe that the way we answer our phones can have a tremendous impact on the people in our lives.
First of all, consider the way you answer your phone when someone in your family calls you. Do you answer with a kind, happy, pleasant tone? Or do you answer with a curt “Hey.”?
When I receive a call from my husband, I try to make my voice perky so he knows I’m excited to hear from him, but sometimes the call comes at a truly inconvenient time. Answering the phone in an annoyed tone and rushing him through the conversation always leaves me regretful that I didn’t just take a second and appreciate the fact that he chose to communicate with me!
Second, consider the way you answer your phone when receiving a call from a number you don’t recognize. As someone who has worked a desk job for 12 years and makes a lot of phone calls…I would love to suggest that you answer the phone with at least your first name. “Hi, this is Whitney.”
I know, it’s so old school and weird to answer the phone like you’re a 1950’s secretary. However, by answering the phone with “Hello, this is _____,” you are serving the person who is calling. You’re telling them they have reached the person they intended to call and that if they launch into the reason they’re calling, you will probably know what they’re talking about.
Many people are uncomfortable talking on the phone – many of us prefer to text – which makes it even more important to put your caller at ease by answering with your name. Additionally, if you receive a call from someone you don’t talk to often but have in your contacts, you could answer by greeting them by name. “Hi Andrea, how are you?”
While we’re on the topic, go ahead and introduce yourself when making a call to a business – or anyone outside of your immediate friends and family circle. It sounds something like this, “Hi, this is Whitney Pendell from Come Home For Comfort. I am calling to check on the status of my hotel reservation. Can you help me with that?”
Phone etiquette is very near and dear to my heart – and the lack of it can sometimes make my life difficult! 🙂 I hope this post encourages you to either continue your good phone etiquette (yay! great job!) or to try one of these ways that you can begin to serve others. As a bonus, you’ll be a great example to your family!
Outdo one another in showing honor. Romans 12:10
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Come Home For Comfort 
Phone skills are so important!! I’ve been thinking about texting etiquette lately. I have to regularly text people that I don’t know well. I am likely not a contact saved in their phone. So I have a standard intro that I gave to introduce myself before I move forward with my message. It helps avoid any confusion and connects the person to the reason I am reaching out to them.
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Yes! That’s a great thing to keep in mind. I’ve gotten a few texts recently from unknown numbers that left me scratching my head as to the sender!
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Very true. Funny, I noticed an amazing lack of phone etiquette built right in to the Hallmark channel movies… have you noticed? The main character is talking with someone, her phone rings, and she immediately answers mid-conversation without so much as an “excuse me, I need to answer this.” I’ve also noticed many just end a phone call by hanging up – no “goodbye” or “bye” to signal an end to the call. I know it’s just make-believe, but these social etiquette clues become ingrained with repetition. My little pet peeve.
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That’s a very interesting observation!
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Yes, yes, and yes!! Great post! I can still see our little play phone at home that we used to practice! I know the people on the other end are appreciative when we use good manners, and our family appreciates truly getting our best! Love this, Whitney!
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Ha yes! Thanks for the early education on that one! 🙂
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Thank you for this post . I try to instill this into my adult children
http://www.mybennysblog.org
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It’s never too late to work on these things, that’s for sure!
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I loved that you touched on this topic!! Now that we are raising teenagers this is a REGULAR conversation…. a couple of things I would add are 1. PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN– when someone is talking to you, at the dinner table, and at church (I tell my teens we are going “1984” for a little while! 2. Once you text it, post it, instagram it, snapchat it, vsco it (SO MANY WAYS to put info out there)… it CANNOT be undone…sure, you can delete it…but, I guarantee you, at least one person has seen it! and it is forever… and 3. Face to face and ear to ear are always more efficient ways to take care of things…
Finally, I really do love my smart watch…. It has helped being able to just “walk away” and not feel like I am attached to my phone!
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Those are great tips, too! Thanks Leanne!
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