词汇大师-- Between Hello and Goodbye

　　MUSIC: "Hanging on the Telephone"/Blondie
AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: some tips on telephone etiquette¹.
RS: One person you don't want to leave hanging on the phone is Nancy Friedman. She's been traveling the country, and now abroad, on a mission.
AA: That mission, in her words: "training corporations to do a better job when the public calls." Nancy Friedman calls herself the Telephone Doctor. Let's start with her prescription² for answering the phone:

　　NANCY FRIEDMAN: "So it would be 'good morning, XYZ company, this is Mary -- stop. Anything after our name, erases³ our name. 'How can I help you?' is not necessary in initial⁴ greetings. We're there to help, that's why we've picked up the telephone. I can guarantee you that most 'how can I help you's' are interrupted by somebody asking for somebody or needing some help."
RS: Nancy Friedman says, don't underestimate⁵ the power of those first few seconds on the phone.
NANCY FRIEDMAN: "That's where a sale is made, where somebody says 'Good morning, thanks for calling, Telephone Doctor's office, this is Nancy,' that's the point where the person thinks, 'Do I want to do business with this company or don't I.' And number two, the other nice part of this is when you give your name, eighty percent of the time you will get the caller's name. So if I were saying, 'Good afternoon, Telephone Doctor's office, this is Nancy,' you might say, 'Hi Nancy, this is Rosanne.'"
RS: And there's a reason she phrases it "this is Nancy."
NANCY FRIEDMAN: "Not 'Nancy speaking,' please remember -- not 'Nancy speaking.' We don't want that."
AA: Why not?
NANCY FRIEDMAN: "Well, we don't want 'Nancy speaking' because Nancy Speaking is married to Bob Speaking. They have two children, Judy Speaking (laughter) ... "
RS: Exactly!
NANCY FRIEDMAN: "Well, I make a joke on that, but the bottom line is they won't remember your name."
AA: OK, let's say you're on the phone with someone and you're not sure who it is, is it polite to ask: "Who is this?"
NANCY FRIEDMAN: "Well, it is not polite to ask 'who is this?' over the telephone any more than if you would walk up to somebody at a party and say 'who are you?' We would shake our hand, we would put our hand out as a sign of friendship and we would say, 'Hello, my name is Nancy. And you are? ' And they would say it. So on the telephone we want to remember to do pretty much the same thing. When somebody calls up and gives a name, it is very rude to say, 'I'm sorry, what was your name again?' You can say, 'I apologize, I know you gave your name and I missed it. My name is Nancy and you are?'"
RS: But what if the caller never gave his or her name right up?
AA: Extracting⁶ the caller's name can require going beyond the obivious questions -- questions that might sound rude.
NANCY FRIEDMAN: "Who is this,' 'what company are you with,' 'what is this concerning' -- those are all very threatening and very frustrating⁷ questions to ask and to answer, so we simply believe if somebody hasn't identified themselves, and you ask for Mister Smith [the reply should be]: 'I'll be glad to ring his office -- let me tell him who's calling, please,' and not 'Can I ask who's calling?' Not 'Who is this?' [Instead, say] 'Let me tell him who's calling please.' But that has a second part to it and a very important second part. If you're turning around and telling Mr. Bigshot it's Mrs. Smith on the phone, Mr. Bigshot must answer the phone with Mrs. Smith's name or don't screen."
RS: In other words, don't try to find out who's calling.
AA: Nancy Friedman has some other rules of customer service.
NANCY FRIEDMAN: "Smile before you pick up the phone, because the callers can hear it, [and] don't rush callers. We find that sometimes, especially when there's a language barrier, each side tries to rush the other caller. Ending a phone call should be done as pleasantly as the beginning. 'Hey, great to talk with you,' 'good meeting you by phone' -- whatever closing signature you'd like. You do it on a letter: 'best wishes,' 'stay well,' all those things. Do it on the telephone, too."
AA: Nancy Friedman, dispensing⁸ advice as the Telephone Doctor, at telephonedoctor.com.
RS: If you have a problem the Wordmasters could cure, write to [email protected], or VOA Wordmaster, Washington DC 20237 USA.
AA: With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti.
MUSIC: "The Telephone Hour"/Original Broadway cast of "Bye-Bye Birdie"

1 etiquette   

n.礼仪，礼节；规矩

参考例句：

• The rules of etiquette are not so strict nowadays.如今的礼仪规则已不那么严格了。
• According to etiquette,you should stand up to meet a guest.按照礼节你应该站起来接待客人。

2 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

3 erases   

v.擦掉( erase的第三人称单数 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• This command erases all data on the specified partition. 这指令在指定的分区上抹去所有的数据。 来自互联网
• A literary image erases the more indolent images of perception. 文学意象抹除那些感官的懒惰意象。 来自互联网

4 initial   

adj.最初的，开始的，词首的；n.首字母，姓名的开头字母；vt.标注姓名的首字母于

参考例句：

• After she'd overcome her initial shyness,she became very friendly.她克服了起初的羞怯之后，变得十分友善。
• The experiments have given initial results eventually.那些试验总算初见成效了。

5 underestimate   

vt.对...估价过低，低估

参考例句：

• Don't underestimate the role of theory.不要轻视理论的作用。
• I think a lot of people still underestimate him.我觉得很多人仍然低估了他。

6 extracting   

n. 萃取, 提取, 提炼 动词extract的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• We must find economical methods for extracting oil from shale. 我们必须找到从页岩中采油的经济方法。
• She was extracting a crisp roll from her purse. 她正从钱袋里掏出一卷钞票。

7 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dispensing   

v.分配( dispense的现在分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• A dispensing optician supplies glasses, but doesn't test your eyes. 配镜师为你提供眼镜，但不检查眼睛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The firm has been dispensing ointments. 本公司配制药膏。 来自《简明英汉词典》