pleasant and polite and say, "Hello." Avoid saying, "Good afternoon, Smith residence" or "John Smith speaking." It's too dangerous today. If you are alone and you don't know who the person is, don't tell them no-one is home or your husband is working, etc. Always pretend someone else is there. Use wisdom and good old-fashioned common sense ! Be safe! If the call is for someone else, say something such as; "One moment please, I'll just go and call them for you." Put the receiver down gently. If who they want to speak to is unavailable, say, "I'm sorry, Sally isn't available right now. May I take a message for her and ask her to phone you as soon as she can?" 8 Put someone on hold politely . If you must carry on two conversations at once you should always excuse yourself from one and resume it later. Say, "I'm sorry, can you hold on a minute; my boss is telling me something," and wait for the person's answer. If the personal conversation will last more than a minute, it would be better to ask, "Can I call you back? My mother needs to talk to me and it may take a few minutes." In case of needing a restroom break, say something to get off the phone, without sharing too much information. All you really need to say is "Can you hold on for a few minutes? I will be right back." Some people feel that being "mannered"