On the phone
A warm transfer is a call handover where the person receiving the call is told who is calling and why before the caller is put through. A cold transfer moves the line and nothing else. The warm version costs a few seconds and saves the caller from explaining everything a second time.
Also called: Attended transfer · Warm handover
A cold transfer passes the line only, so the next person answers blind and the caller starts again. A warm transfer passes the context with the call: who is on the line, what they asked, and what has already been promised. For the caller it is the difference between one conversation and two.
The assistant has already had the conversation, so it knows the context. When the call goes through to a person, the assistant speaks a short summary first: the caller, the request and anything it confirmed. Nothing appears on a screen; the colleague hears it and picks up knowing where the conversation stands instead of opening with a question.
Last checked 2026-09-23
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