The Use of Speaker phone

善用電話免提

陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作。他今天在走廊里遇到了美國同事Amy。

(Office ambience)

A：Chen Hao, you look pleased about something. What is it?

C：我剛才發現電話上有個叫speaker的鍵，只要按下去，就不用再拿著話筒說話了。

A：It is called a speaker or speaker phone, 中文可能是叫免提功能。

C：這真是太方便了。我可以一邊打電話，一邊干別的事。

A：Speakerphone is a great convenience, but you need to be careful about when and how you use it.

C：不能隨時用嗎？

A：You need to consider whether the person to whom you are speaking is comfortable being placed on speaker phone.

C：這跟他們有什么關系?。?/p>

A：Because it is like broadcasting your entire call to other people who might be listening.

C：Broadcast？我還是不太明白。

A：When you place someone on speaker, anyone passing by or in close proximity can hear both sides of the conversation.

C：對呀，那又怎么了？

A：The person on the other end may not be comfortable with other people overhearing what he is saying, especially if he isn't aware that he is on speaker.

C：噢，你是說對方可能不想讓別人聽見他跟我說些什么。

A：Exactly. Always ask permission before putting people on speaker phone.

C：謝謝你的忠告，免得我得罪人。

下午下班得時候，Amy又遇到了陳豪。

A：Chen Hao, how was your day?

C：還記得我們說的speaker phone嗎？有個客戶打電話給我問資料，我就問他能不能把電話放在speakerphone上，這樣我就可以一邊找資料，一邊跟他通話了。

A：What did he say?

C：他說沒問題，還謝謝我征求他的意見?？墒俏腋舯诘腏oe很不高興，因為我們的談話干擾了他的工作。

A：That is another point you need to be aware of regarding speaker phones. Using them in your cubicle when others are working in adjacent cubicles is inconsiderate.

C：既然有這么多限制，那這種功能不是白費了嗎？

A：You can use it, just be thoughtful. Another reason that people use speaker phones is to be able to have a conversation or phone meeting when everyone involved cannot be present physically.

C：就是說,銷售部主任正好出差，而咱們倆要是用一個電話跟他開電話會議就可以用speaker phone了吧？

A：Yes, with speaker phones, not everyone has to be in the same room to have a meeting.

C：Amy，你再提醒我一遍，什么時候該用speaker phone, 什么時候不該用？行嗎？

A：It's really simple. Don't put people on speaker phone without asking permission and don't use speaker phone when it may disturb others.

C：好，我記住了。