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In this Special Edition of Total PowerPhone, VP of Product, Greg Sheehan is joined by PowerPhone Implementation Team Lead Gary LeTourneau to discuss ways to handle 911 callers who are in unusual situations and might not be able to speak freely.

With recent news stories on the Paul Pelosi attack and his secret call to 911, PowerPhone reviews scenarios in which a caller seems to be talking in code to a call handler. Thanks to the instincts of the dispatcher and Mr. Pelosi’s ability to keep his phone covertly connected to 911, officers were quickly deployed to the residence.

In this segment, Greg and Gary touch on how telecommunicators must adapt their questions and approach to information gathering when faced with a call that is initially unclear or unusual.

With Total Response’s guided flexibility and best in class call handling training, call takers are trained to recognize odd conversations or requests. They listen for indicators in a caller’s voice and pay close attention to background noise, and ask questions to get more information if it is uncertain whether there is an emergency. Secret calls to 911 like Pelosi’s and a dispatcher’s in-tune and trained attention to the background noise not only saves seconds, but also saves lives.