Telemarketing is selling by telephone: a company rings people up, one after another, to try to sell them something — insurance, a credit card, a phone plan, a language course. It is the business word for the thing everyone knows and almost nobody likes.

Telemarketing is selling by telephoneTelemarketing是靠電話賣東西： a company rings people up, one after another一家公司一個接一個打給人 to try to sell them something想賣他們一些東西— insurance, a credit card, a phone plan, a language course保險、信用卡、電話方案、語言課程。 It is the business word for the thing everyone knows and almost nobody likes這是業界用來講『大家都知道、幾乎沒有人喜歡』那件事的詞。

There are two shapes to it. 'Cold calling' is ringing people who never asked to be called, working down a list. The other kind is calling people who already gave the company their number. Telemarketing also covers calls that are not straight selling — asking your opinion about a product, or calling old customers to bring them back — but selling is the heart of it.

There are two shapes to it它有兩種形式。 'Cold calling' is ringing people who never asked to be called『Cold calling（陌生開發）』是打給從來沒要求被打的人 working down a list一個一個照名單打下去。 The other kind is calling people who already gave the company their number另一種是打給已經把電話號碼給過公司的人。 Telemarketing also covers calls that are not straight sellingTelemarketing也包含不是直接推銷的電話 asking your opinion about a product, or calling old customers to bring them back問你對某個產品的意見、或打給老客戶想把他們找回來 but selling is the heart of it但推銷才是它的核心。

Now the honest part, the part a dictionary line will not tell you: this word is neutral in tone but the thing itself is not. To a company, telemarketing is a department with a budget. To the person eating dinner when the phone rings, it is a nuisance. So the word sits in a strange place — flat and professional in a business plan, faintly negative in ordinary conversation.

Now the honest part, the part a dictionary line will not tell you現在是老實話的部分，字典的一行字不會告訴你的： this word is neutral in tone but the thing itself is not這個詞的語氣是中性的，但這件事本身不是。 To a company對一家公司來說 telemarketing is a department with a budgettelemarketing是一個有預算的部門。 To the person eating dinner when the phone rings對正在吃晚餐、電話忽然響起的人來說 it is a nuisance它是一種打擾。 So the word sits in a strange place所以這個詞卡在一個很奇怪的位置—— flat and professional in a business plan在商業計畫裡聽起來平淡、專業 faintly negative in ordinary conversation在日常對話裡卻帶點負面。

If someone says 'I did telemarketing for a year', English speakers hear a hard, badly paid job that people take when they need work.

If someone says 'I did telemarketing for a year'如果有人說『I did telemarketing for a year（我做了一年telemarketing）』， English speakers hear a hard, badly paid job英文母語者聽到的是一份辛苦、薪水不好的工作 that people take when they need work是人需要工作的時候才會去做的那種。

Be careful with one thing: telemarketing means real selling by real companies. The fake calls — the ones claiming your bank account has a problem — are scam calls or fraud, not telemarketing, even though they arrive the same way.

Be careful with one thing有一件事要小心： telemarketing means real selling by real companiestelemarketing指的是真正公司做的真正推銷。 The fake calls那種假電話— the ones claiming your bank account has a problem說你的銀行帳戶有問題的那種— are scam calls or fraud, not telemarketing是詐騙電話，不算telemarketing， even though they arrive the same way就算它們用同樣的方式打來也一樣。

The word is the activity. The person is a telemarketer; the place is a call centre.

The word is the activity這個詞本身指的是這個行為。 The person is a telemarketer做這件事的人是telemarketer； the place is a call centre做這件事的地方是call centre（電話客服中心）。