Taking Phone Messages... Good and Bad

Professional Phone Etiquette : Taking Good Phone Messages

You get to your desk and are getting ready for the day. Did you know that taking good phone messages requires you to have the right supplies? Yes, you heard right. How are you supposed to take messages if you don't have paper, pen, or pencil to write things down with? It doesn't just apply to how you write down messages with either. Here are 12 tips to take effective phone messages:

1. Get the details. The caller's name, company and phone number or numbers with the area code. Details are important.
2. Spell it write. Having the right spelling can save a ton of time when researching issues or prepping for returning the call. Don't be afraid to ask the person to spell their name if your not sure.
3. Time and date please. This helps with recalling the conversation and can also be important if for certification or legal reasons.
4. Prioritize, is it urgent or not? This way, the message recipient will know how quickly to respond. And again time is money.
5. Write it down on a phone-message pad. Don't scribble it at the back of an envelope or a manilla folder.
6. Make sure there is lots of room on the message pad. If you try to jam too many messages on one sheet more than likely you will get confused and not even remember what you were writing about in the first place.
7. Writing implements are important. Make sure you have a spare pen handy. This way you will not be putting the caller on hold while you search for a replacement.
8. Read it back. Before you hang up read the details back to the caller. This will ensure that you have the correct information and will allow the caller to add anything that they may have forgotten to include.
9. Sign it. Yes I know, it may seem like overkill but this way if more information is required by the person receiving the message, they can contact you directly.
10. Make it visible. Make sure to put the message in a place the recipient is going to see it. I find that the top of computer monitors works great.
11. Deliver the message. Make sure the person that the message is for actually gets the message. Give it to them in a timely manner. If it's an urgent message give it to them asap. Don't wait hours later to give it to them.
12. If you need to ask follow up questions. It never hurts to have extra information.

Now that everyone knows about good phone message taking, everyone should know what not to do. Some examples of what not to do are  leaving your desk unattended and not notifying someone, ignoring phone calls, playing on your phone, thinking you can remember what the caller said without writing it down, and putting on hold for your own amusement. NEVER EVER do these. You will lose your job by doing these. 

Let's recap: Good phone taking

When taking a message make sure to have the following: name of the person the message is for, the caller's name (correct spelling), company or department, number to reach them at, date and time, and a message to the person it is for. 

I found two great sites you can look at. The first one is a template and is about Taking Telephone Messages. Lesson #3B is another template and has information about taking telephone messages as well as other info.