As everyone on this website knows, when you are in the real estate business, you might as well have your phone surgically attached to your ear.  First impressions formed over the phone can be very  hard to come off of down the road, especially if it is a bad first impression.  Even though we should all know this, it amazes me that some people in this business have absolutely no telephone etiquette.  I'm not gonna go all Ms. Manners on everyone telling you the proper way to answer the phone, etc. but here are my personal tips on how NOT to talk to on the phone. 

1.  Don't yell into the phone.  If I can't hear you, I'll let you know.

2.  Finish chewing your food before you start talking.  If you are eating, I can't hear you.  And...I'll waste both of our times making you repeat information.

3.  Speak clearly.  Lazy speech is not very professional.  If you can talk to your friends in your lazy speech voice and they understand you, great!  I probably cannot.  Lets all talk like the professionals we claim to be.

4.  Listen to your voice-mails.  And...during that process, erase ones that you don't need.  It makes me IRATE to get a message that says "The voice mailbox you are trying to reach is FULL!" 

5.  If you don't have voice-mail, get it!

6.  Return calls in a timely manner.  True, I might call from time to time out of the blue just to chat but...odds are, if I'm calling you, I need something or an answer about something I already have.

7.  Don't have some crazy ring-tone that you'd be embarrassed for your grandmother to hear.  If you wouldn't want her to hear it, I don't want to hear it either. 

That's all that I can think of at the moment but I can guarantee you that these are not the only ones that come to mind EVERY SINGLE DAY!!

Aside from all these gripes, I do still enjoy talking to people on the phone.  Let's just all put forth the effort to make those phone calls enjoyable for everyone else!