The simple truth is that you need to be more aware of what youâre leaving for other people to hear. Sure, this doesnât always register as a priority for users, but itâs never too late to reassess your greeting. a. Reading/Speaking in the Imperfect Tone: Tone is absolutely everything. Users donât want to come off as being too nice, as it sounds insincere, or being too terse, as it can be interpreted as being rude. That being said, striking the right balance is absolutely essential. Your greeting exists as its own entity, and therefore, it should NOT rely on callersâ familiarity with you. Instead, it needs to appeal to the masses. As such, your inflection, i.e. the way you state your name and directions, needs to be both welcoming and firm. b. Injecting Humor & Insincerity: While humor/light heartedness can be welcoming, it can also convey a sense of informality, insincerity, and ultimately unprofessionalism. Why, because youâre not there to lend your humor or to contextualize. Instead, youâre assuming the caller has a working knowledge of your personality to ground the message. Though this might not sound like itâs all that terribleâit can be detrimental. As stated above, one should NEVER rely on a callerâs familiarity with you. Instead, aim to appeal to the masses. Humor is ultimately subjective, meaning not everyone has the same tastes; therefore, someone is bound to be turned off by a quirky or off-color remark. While implementing a light-hearted or even tongue and cheek tone can work, itâs just a really bad idea.
The script is relatively similar, but the doctor is including a good reason for not being available, so patients donât feel like theyâre being ignored. Heâs also left another avenue for patients to get in touch if they need some urgent help.
