The Art of the Telephone

The telephone at my work terrifies me when it rings, someone asking questions and answers I never know. Then trying to understand their name and asking them to spell it without the person getting annoyed or frustrated is another mission I rather avoid.
As we talked in class about how to be a good listener I realized it works the same way through the phone, most of the people that call my internship are frustrated or have many questions about the events that we organize, and as the receptionist (sometimes myself) answers the phones first they are even more annoyed that their questions can't be answered right away and that their time is being wasted. But I think I finally mastered the art of listening through the phone.
I have started to pick up the phone in an upbeat tone and allow the person to ramble on with their questions, although I am usually never able to answer their deep and complex questions. Once they finish talking I repeat what they just said and explain that I am an intern and ask them for their basic information so I can quickly find the appropriate person in the organization to answer them. Although this sounds very basic and you'd think everyone already does this, that is not the case. As I kept answering the phone in this manner I began to realize the pattern of people on the other line who seemed happy that I sincerely listened to their questions and want to have all of their questions answered. That is how I mastered the art of the telephone.