Best Practices for Screening Calls
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Phone calls are just another part of the job for the assistant/gatekeeper. Learning how to screen phone calls without offending the caller is a critical skill when we are trying to protect our executive’s precious free time. This presentation will help you to better incorporate general business phone etiquette into your conversations while also practicing techniques for screening out unwelcome callers and ensuring that valued clients are speaking to the most appropriate individual to address their needs. We’ll also cover the common limitations and issues that can arise with phone calls, from feeling like we might need to “lie” to cover for a boss who is not returning calls to handling irate callers. You’ll be inspired to rise to this challenge with new tools in your arsenal after attending this webinar.
Your Benefits of Attending:
- Understand what it means to be the gatekeeper and why that is important.
- Gain insight into the overall considerations for business phone etiquette.
- Learn best practices for providing excellent customer service, including maintaining your moral values.
- Gain techniques to clarify the caller's purpose and the best person for them to speak with.
- Learn the crafty techniques salespeople use to get past gatekeepers and how to combat them.
Join Marie Herman as she teaches you gracefully screen calls and deftly address common ethical and practical dilemmas.
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Marie Herman
When it comes to career and professional development, Marie Herman, CAP, OM, ACS, MOSM knows how to take you from where you are, to where you want to be. As the owner of MRH Enterprises LLC, Marie helps office professionals to advance their careers through certification and education. Prior to [...]
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Aurora Training Advantage is offering continuing education points designed to recognize dedication to training and excellence in administrative.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Effective call screening is one of the most delicate responsibilities of an executive assistant—it requires protecting a leader's time and attention while treating every caller with professionalism and respect. The foundational approach is gathering information before transferring or declining: 'May I ask what this call is regarding?' and 'May I have your name and organization?' give the assistant the context needed to make an informed routing decision without revealing whether the executive is available. Tone matters enormously—callers who feel dismissed or disrespected will escalate through other channels or leave a negative impression of the organization. Skilled gatekeepers use warm, confident language that conveys authority without defensiveness. Understanding which callers the executive always wants to speak with, which can be handled by others, and which can be redirected to email allows for consistent, policy-based decisions rather than ad hoc guesses. Marie Herman's Best Practices for Screening Calls webinar at Aurora Training Advantage provides specific scripts and techniques for the most challenging screening scenarios including persistent salespeople and irate callers.
Experienced salespeople use a toolkit of tactics specifically designed to circumvent gatekeepers, and administrative assistants who recognize these techniques can address them confidently. Common tactics include name-dropping ('Tell John his old colleague called'), false urgency ('It's time-sensitive regarding his account'), deliberate vagueness ('It's a personal matter'), and the 'just one question' approach that attempts to make the executive themselves part of the screening decision. Effective responses maintain consistent policy regardless of the framing: 'I'd be happy to pass along your information—what is the best way for him to reach you if he's interested?' redirects the conversation while avoiding a yes/no confrontation. Assistants should never claim an executive is unavailable if they simply don't want to take the call—this creates ethical problems and can backfire professionally. Instead, language like 'He's not available to take calls at the moment' is truthful and non-committal. Maintaining a log of persistent callers allows patterns to be identified and blocked systematically. Aurora Training Advantage's call screening webinar addresses the ethics of gatekeeping alongside the practical techniques.
Professional phone etiquette reflects directly on the organization's reputation and shapes callers' perceptions before any business discussion begins. Answering within three rings—or acknowledging the caller promptly if a brief hold is necessary—signals that the organization is responsive and organized. Greeting calls with a consistent, professional formula: 'Thank you for calling [Company], this is [Name], how may I help you?' establishes immediate professionalism and gives the caller essential orientation information. Active listening—not interrupting, summarizing to confirm understanding, and taking notes—demonstrates respect and prevents the costly errors that arise from information loss during calls. Speaking clearly and at a moderate pace is especially important for callers on mobile phones or with hearing differences. When transferring calls, providing the caller with the recipient's name, direct number, and a brief warm introduction prevents the frustrating experience of being transferred to voicemail without context. Ending calls with a clear summary of any commitments made ('I'll email you the document by end of day today') creates accountability and leaves a positive final impression.
Irate callers are among the most demanding situations for administrative professionals, requiring the simultaneous management of the caller's emotions and the protection of the organization's interests. The foundational principle is de-escalation through acknowledgment: 'I understand you're frustrated, and I want to help you get this resolved' validates the caller's experience without accepting blame on behalf of the organization. Interrupting or arguing escalates rather than resolves anger; allowing the caller to fully express their frustration before responding is counterintuitive but consistently effective. Lowering your own voice—rather than matching the caller's elevated tone—has a physiological calming effect on most people. Identifying the actual problem beneath the emotional presentation is the next step: 'Can you help me understand what you're hoping we can do for you today?' redirects from venting to problem-solving. If the assistant cannot resolve the issue, warm transfer to someone who can—rather than sending the already-frustrated caller through another screening cycle—preserves the relationship. Setting firm but respectful boundaries for verbal abuse ('I want to help you, but I'm not able to continue the conversation if the language stays this way') is both appropriate and professional.
Routing priority clients efficiently requires both advance preparation and in-the-moment skill. The preparation involves maintaining an up-to-date list of the executive's key relationships with routing instructions—who goes directly through, who can be handled by which team member, and what level of urgency warrants an interruption. When a valued client calls, warm transfer is the gold standard: the assistant introduces the caller by name and context to the recipient before transferring, rather than placing the client in a transfer queue anonymously. If the right person is unavailable, the assistant should provide a realistic timeline ('He's in a meeting until 2 PM and will return your call this afternoon') rather than vague language that erodes confidence. Offering an alternative—'Would you like to speak with his deputy, who can assist you immediately?'—demonstrates service orientation. Following up to ensure the callback occurred closes the loop and signals that the organization takes the client's time seriously. Building familiarity with key clients over time—knowing their preferences, time zones, and common needs—allows assistants to provide service that feels genuinely personalized rather than transactional.