oDesk Telephone Etiquette Certification Test

Question:01
Why is 'Privacy' considered one of the 7 Pillars of Telephone usage, and generally important when making calls?
a. It makes the call important and secure to both parties, especially when it is a business call.
b. People like things to be private and secretive - it makes them feel special, like they are tricking the world.
c. It's not - privacy should always be secondary to communication and letting everyone know as much as possible.
d. The information could be damaging if leaked into the wrong hands, especially in the case of financial or legal decisions.e. a and d

Question:02
When you are addressing a woman and are unsure of her marital status, which of the following titles should you use?
a. Ms.
b. Miss
c. Mrs.
d. Mr.
e. None of the above

Question:03
When is it acceptable to use the 'silent' mode on your cell phone?
a. When you do not want to disturb others around you.
b. When you are expecting an important call, and do not wish others to be interrupted.
c. When you wish to be notified by your phone without it ringing and alerting everybody in the room, or wherever you are.
d. When you wish to attend a meeting or a public event, but still wish to know when you have been called or received a voicemail or text message.
e. All of the above

Question:04
Which of the following is probably the worst way to end a business call?
a. "Don't call us, we'll call you."
b. "Thanks for your time. Not."
c. "See ya in the next life."
d. Just hang up.
e. They are all equally bad.

Question:05
Which of the following should be considered while leaving a voice mail message?
a. Leaving a message that is short and to the point.
b. Being polite and giving a sense of what is expected in return.
c. Leaving as much information as possible, relatively briefly.
d. Speaking clearly and succinctly.
e. All of the above

Question:06
Why is it not a good idea to always leave a lengthy voicemail message?
a. The message can be truncated, and therefore not communicated properly.
b. The message may experience a long delay in reaching its destination.
c. Part of the message may become scrambled and be harder to hear
d. There is risk of the message not being recorded at all, as it is a greater challenge for the cell phone recording technology.
e. All of the above

Question:07
What does 'screening your calls' mean?
a. Choosing which calls to answer, and which not to answer, based on the name or number (or absence of a number) that shows up when about to receive the call.
b. Applying a safety cover to your cell phone, often a transparent plastic cover called a 'screen'.
c. Making a list of all the calls you've received in the last month, in order to calculate if your cell phone bill is accurate or not.
d. Deleting all the missed calls, received calls and dialled numbers from your cell phone.

Question:08
Which of the following sentences are appropriate when you are asking for somebody on the phone?
a. Yo, Mr. Jones
b. Hello, could you please connect me to Mr. Jones?
c. Get me Mr. Jones, please
d. Good morning, I was wondering if I could speak to Mr. Jones?
e. b and d

Question:09
Which of the following is not an active listening word that will let the party know that you are attentive to their phone call?
a. "Yes"
b. "What?"
c. "Great"
d. "I see"

Question: 10
How can you convey to your listener that you need to discuss sensitive issues over the phone, such as the exchange of personal and protected information?
a. Tell them you will fax the details.
b. Tell them you will email the details, although it might be by unsecured e-mail.
c. Confirm with them whether it is okay to discuss such issues before discussing them.
d. Avoid these discussions at all costs on the telephone.

Question:12
Which of the following is considered polite if you have an interruption while speaking to a caller?
a. Excuse me for a moment, please, I will be back in a matter of seconds. Is that okay?
b. Wait 5 minutes, will you.
c. Got to go — I'll call you back later.
d. Wait there, I'll back.

Question:13
You should not talk about personal issues on a business call until you have established a personal relationship with your business contact?
a. True
b. False
c. Irrelevant issue for cell phones
d. You should always personalize the call before talking business, even if just telling a joke.
e. None of the above