Guidance for Telephone Buddy Calls

Before every phone call:

  • Remind yourself of your Buddy’s circumstances and what you may have talked about during previous calls. Your call log may be helpful with this.

  • Make sure you can hear your Buddy clearly on the phone by being in a quiet space if possible. Try to take away any distractions near you so you can focus on your Buddy for the duration of your call.

  • REMEMBER TO DIAL 141 before the phone number. This will hide your phone number, so you will not receive unwanted calls. Once you give your number out or the person has dialled 1571 to retrieve it, you are unable to get it back! Alternative ways to hide your phone number on mobile phones:

    For Android users – Go to ‘phone’, press the vertical 3 dots for a drop down menu and select ‘settings’, select ‘supplementary services’, select ‘showing caller ID’, click ‘hide my number’.

    For Apple devices – Go to ‘settings’, select ‘phone’, select ‘show my caller ID’, slide the circle to the left to hide number and back to right (green) to show number.

During the phone call:

  • Begin by explaining that you are a volunteer with The Link Visiting Scheme and you are calling to see how they are. You may need to remind them that they agreed to this.

  • If this is not your first call, you may want to remind them of something you have previously spoken about. This can reassure them that you are the same person.

  • Ask them if this a good time to call and if they can hear you.

  • Provide them with an opportunity to talk about anything they would like to. Take their lead and remember it may take a few calls to develop a trust between you.

  • Feel free to talk about details of your own life that you are happy to share. However, remember that your Buddy may not keep them confidential so nothing too personal!

  • Take the conversation to where they lead it – BUT if it’s causing them to dwell on negative and depressing thoughts – you may need to help them change the subject.

  • Enquire about their general well-being – are they eating enough and keeping hydrated? What are they doing to keep occupied at home?

General conversation topics for phone calls

  • Interests and hobbies

  • Television

  • Holidays in the past compared to holidays now

  • Bringing up children in the past compared to now

  • Local area – How long have they lived there, where are they originally from?

  • Fun places to go in the local area – what garden centres they might like, shops, restaurants etc

  • Weather

  • Recent news items (especially positive ones)

  • Gardening

  • Cooking

  • Family

  • Pets

  • Managing at home

  • Friendships

  • Clubs and organisations they normally attend

The Link Visiting SchemeComment