Call script: know what you will say before you dial

How the script is put together

• Say this first is “Hello”, your name if you gave one, and then your own sentence, word for word. The page does not rewrite what you typed.
• If it gets hard is the same eight lines on every script: ask them to slow down, to spell it, to give their name and a reference number, to put it in writing, and a line for ending the call. They are our wording. Cross out the ones that are not you.
• If nobody answers is a short message with your name, your sentence and your call-back number said twice. Where you left a box empty, the message shows a blank line.
• What happened is yours to fill in after the call. Each note keeps its day.

What this page can’t do

• It does not make the call. On a phone, the number is a button that opens your phone’s own dialer, and you press call there.
• It does not record or listen to anything. It only keeps what you type.
• It does not know what they will say, what the office’s rules are or what you are owed. Nothing here is legal, medical or financial advice.
• It cannot spot every private number. The planning boxes refuse a line shaped like a Social Security, card or account number, but they cannot tell a password or a short PIN from any other word. The “what happened” box does not check at all, so that you can keep a reference number.
• It does not move to another phone or computer by itself. Print it, download it, or use My data on this device to carry a backup across.

Small things that can make a call easier

• Read the first lines out loud once before you dial.
• Put the call on speaker, so your hands are free to write and the script stays in view.
• If you are calling from this phone, the call may cover the screen. Print the sheet, or open the page on another screen.
• Ask someone you trust to sit next to you while you call.
• It is fine to ask whether there is another way to do this: an online form, an email, a letter or a visit.
• If the call goes badly, you are allowed to stop and call back another day. The script will still be here.

These are everyday ideas in our own words. They are not advice from a clinician, and they do not suit everyone.

If they called you

This page is for calls you make to a number you looked up yourself. If someone called you and wants money, a code or a number from you, you can hang up without answering any of it, and check it against Is this a scam?