Primary Scenario Objectives – What Clients Should Learn

• How to answer the telephone
• How to request and give information on the telephone
• How to end conversations on the telephone

From the Refugee Perspective – Cultural Norms

• If your client has a phone in his or her home, please warn him or her about telemarketers. It would be great if you can get your client’s telephone number listed on the National Do Not Call Registry to help with avoiding telemarketers.
• If your client does not yet know about telephone technologies available to him or her, i.e., residential phone lines and cell phones, please inform him or her as to what you know of such options.
• When dialing a number, dashes and parentheses are not included.
• 9-1-1, directory assistance, long distance (press “1” then area code), and collect calls

Scenario Activity

Take the Call, Then Make the Call

• This is an easy role-playing activity wherein your client will practice answering the telephone, giving the caller information, and ending the call, and then he or she will act as the caller and ask for information.
• You will act as the caller and your client will answer the phone with a “hello”.
• Role play using different personalities and ask your client a variety of questions over the telephone. Try to ask questions that are likely to be asked of your client over the phone, such as what is his or her address and if so-and-so can come to the phone. Try the wrong number approach as well.
• If children in the household may be picking up the phone, try to get them used to saying “hello” and to then tell callers that they will get an adult to come to the phone. If children will be answering the phone, please explain that they should either a) never answer when an adult is not home, or b) never tell a caller that an adult is not home.
• After he or she answers the questions asked by you as the caller, your client should practice ways of saying goodbye/ending the call.
• Now switch roles and give your client a chance to practice acting as the caller, including introducing himself or herself and asking for information.
• If necessary, try to help your client with pronunciation of words typically used on the telephone in order to avoid being frustrated by strangers having difficulty understanding his or her words over the phone.

Essential Vocabulary

telephone
cell phone
pay phone
phone number
area code
hello
goodbye/bye
long distance
dial tone
ring tone