I have a slightly different interpretation. When calling someone, they hear "ring" then silence, then it repeats. Unless the person interrupts a ring, the caller won't know it's picked up for a second.

As an aside, I mess with my wife like that. I answer the phone without saying something. There's a long pause, then she says something like "oh, did you pick up?"

So, I say the person being called should speak first. A solid "hello, this is [name]"

Then the caller can get right to what they want.

I get a lot of random numbers for business, and this method results in less awkward stumbling from both sides.

I have a slightly different interpretation. When calling someone, they hear "ring" then silence, then it repeats. Unless the person interrupts a ring, the caller won't know it's picked up for a second. This alone is reason enough for me to identify myself first.

As an aside, I mess with my wife like that. I answer the phone without saying something. There's a long pause, then she says something like "oh, did you pick up?"

So, I say the person being called should identify themselves first. I normally say:

"hello, this is [name]"

"Hi, this is [name], I'm calling because..."

Then the caller can get right to what they want. That makes one step before they get to the reason for calling. If you wait for the other person to speak first, then it can be two steps:

"Hi, this is [name] calling for [name]"

"Yes, this is [name]"

"Well, I'm calling because..."

If you speak first without identifying yourself, it's three steps:

"Hello, who am I speaking to?"

"Hi, this is [name] calling for [name]"

"Yes, this is [name]"

"Well, I'm calling because..."

I get a lot of random numbers for business, and this method results in less awkward stumbling from both sides.

I have a slightly different interpretation. When calling someone, they hear "ring" then silence, then it repeats. Unless the person interrupts a ring, the caller won't know it's picked up for a second.

As an aside, I mess with my wife like that. I answer the phone without saying something. There's a long pause, then she says something like "oh, did you pick up?"

So, I say the person being called should speak first. A solid "hello" and maybe even a "this is [name]"

Then the caller can get right to what they want.

I get a lot of random numbers for business, and this method results in less awkward stumbling from both sides.

I have a slightly different interpretation. When calling someone, they hear "ring" then silence, then it repeats. Unless the person interrupts a ring, the caller won't know it's picked up for a second.

As an aside, I mess with my wife like that. I answer the phone without saying something. There's a long pause, then she says something like "oh, did you pick up?"

So, I say the person being called should speak first. A solid "hello, this is [name]"

Then the caller can get right to what they want.

I get a lot of random numbers for business, and this method results in less awkward stumbling from both sides.