“Moshi moshi”. In Japan, that’s how you would greet someone when calling on the phone. If you’re calling them at home, after the "moshi moshi” you'd give your name using a phrase like "[name] desu redo”, or "[name] de gozaimasu ga” if you wanted to be even more polite. The phrase is even used ironically or sarcastically to see if someone is paying attention (“Hellooooo… ?”).
But how does that party connect with you in the first place? FreeConference.com’s new International dial-in numbers allow anyone to participate in your conferences, no matter where in the world they happen to be. Our Tokyo-based number is perfect for the caller in Japan. Instead of dialing across the world to a number in the United States, callers can pick and choose the location that’s best for them.
In Italy for example, people often answer with ‘Pronto’, or ‘ready’, though it's also acceptable to just say "Dimmi” (“speak") – something that would certainly be considered rude by American standards. Spain also considers it perfectly acceptable to answer with “Diga” (“speak”).
Calling someone in France? They’ll usually answer with the familiar “Allo”, and often add their name with the phrase “Qui est a l”appareil” (“Who is on the phone?”). Germans are prone to answering with the last name; while in Copenhagen, Danes usually answer with both first and last names. But in Mexico and Russia — countries with history of phone tapping and bad lines — callers are generally more cautious about giving out personal information over the phone.
But it’s likely the Arabs who open a call more effusively than any other culture: No matter what the general subject, the conversation nearly always starts with at least five minutes of “meaningless but essential” greetings, such as inquiring about one’s family, before launching into the actual topic at hand.
But of course the best part about calling around the world is that FreeConference offers dedicated “in country” dial-in numbers in over forty countries, saving your participants those pesky international long-distance charges. There are lots of numbers one can access through our free plans, and even more Premium numbers available for a small fee. Your international callers will appreciate the fact that you’ve provided them with a local number, and your wallet will appreciate the fantastic rates.
Create your FreeConference.com account and get access to everything you need for your business or organization to hit the ground running, like video and Screen Sharing, Call Scheduling, Automated Email Invitations, Reminders, and more.
