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Text II. Business Telephoning Language

A lot of people find it difficult to make phone calls in a foreign language – and that's understandable. You can't see the person you are talking to, their voice might be unclear, and you might find it difficult to find the right words.

One thing you can do to improve your telephone skills is to learn some of the multi-word verbs that are commonly used in telephone conversations. Most of them are featured in this module. Hold on means 'wait' – and hang on means 'wait' too. Be careful not to confuse hang on with hang up! Hang up means 'finish the call by breaking the connection' – in other words: 'put the phone down.'

Another phrasal verb with the same meaning as hang up is ring off. The opposite of hang up / ring off is ring up – if you ring somebody up, you make a phone call. And if you pick up the phone, (or pick the phone up) you answer a call when the phone rings.

"Hang on a second..." If you are talking to a receptionist, secretary or switchboard operator, they may ask you to hang on while they put you through – put through means to connect your call to another telephone. With this verb, the object (you, me, him, her etc.) goes in the middle of the verb: put you through.

But if you can't get through to (contact on the phone) the person you want to talk to, you might be able to leave a message asking them to call you back. Call back means to return a phone call – and if you use an object (you, me, him, her etc.), it goes in the middle of the verb: call you back.

Another thing to think about when talking on the telephone is formality. It's important to use the right level of formality – if you are too formal, people might find it difficult to feel comfortable when they talk to you. On the other hand, if you are too informal, people might think you are rude!

Generally speaking, if you are talking to someone in a business context, you should use could, can, may or would when you make a request: 'Could I speak to Jason Roberts, please?' 'Can I take a message?' 'Would next Wednesday be okay?'. You should also use please and thank you or thanks very much whenever you ask for, or receive, help or information.

It's important to show politenessby using words like would, could, please, thank you etc. But it's also okay to use some of the features of informal/spoken English - short forms, phrasal verbs and words like okay and bye - in other words - everyday English! So phrases like I'm off to a conference..., no problem, bye! and hang on a moment and I'll put you through are perfectly acceptable, as long as the overall tone of the conversation is polite.

One last tip - it's better to ask for help or clarificationwhen you're having a telephone conversation, than to pretend you understand something that you didn't. It's perfectly acceptable to use phrases like 'Could you repeat that, please?' 'Could you speak a little more slowly, please?' and 'would you mind spelling that for me please?' Using phrases like these will help make sure that you have a successful phone call, and may save you from lots of problems later on. You could always say that the line's very bad today if you can't hear very well. And it's also a good idea to practice words, phrases and vocabulary before you make the call!

PRACTICE:

To complete these tasks remember to get the level of politeness and friendliness right!

1. Discussion Questions:

· How often do you have to speak on the phone in English?

· Do you find it difficult? If so, why?

· Are telephone conversations in English part of your job? Will they be part of your job in the future?

· Are work calls in English easier or more difficult than other calls in English?

2. CollaborativeWriting:

Write one line of a telephone conversation, then pass the paper clockwise to the next student, who writes the next line, and so on until the conversations are complete. Afterwards, perform the conversations in pairs for the class.

3. Telephone Roleplay:

Student A acts the part of the caller, and Student B answers the phone. Student B gets a secret card with one of three instructions on it: ‘be too informal’, ‘use the correct level of formality’, or ‘be too formal’. The students roleplay a conversation, and afterwards try to guess which instruction Student B was given and say if his style and manners are appropriate.

4. Telephoning Quizzes:

a) Connecting(Choose the one correct answer)

1. When you telephone a company the person answering the phone may ask you a question. Which is the correct question?

A. Who’s calling please?

B. Who calls?

C. Who it is?

D. Who called?

2. Which phrase means the same as ‘hang on a moment?’

A. Just a second

B. I’ll put you on

C. Go ahead

D. I’m ready

3. Choose the correct word: “Please ……. and I’ll put you through.”

A. stop

B. stay

C. talk

D. hold

4. What is the expression used to connect two people on the telephone?

A. I’m sending you through

B. I’m putting you through

C. I’m calling you through

D. I’m talking you through

b) Messages(Finish the sentence by choosing the correct words and writing them into the empty boxes).

1. He’s not in his office at the moment, take / can / your / message / I / a / please ?

2. She’ll be back in the office this afternoon, later / call / can / back / you / soon / message?

3. – Can I speak to June Wilkinson please?

– meeting / afraid / I’m / she’s / a / in / at / on.

4. – Could you ask him to ring me back please? My number is 020 7558 4567.

– message / I’ll / sure / make / OK / gets / he / the / an / on

c) Wrong number(Choose the correct word to complete the sentence).

1. You ______ have the wrong number.

A. should

B. would

C. must

D. can

2. His _______ number is 998922.

A. straight

B. direct

C. certain

D. sure

3. I'm ________ to have troubled you.

A. upset

B. apologise

C. sorry

D. sad

4. I'm sorry, you've _______ the wrong number.

A. got

B. had

C. have

D. put

d) Appointments(Finish the sentence with the correct phrase).

1. I’d like to ___________ an appointment

A. arrange

B. have

C. do

D. save

2. I could ________ it after four

A. take

B. fake

C. get

D. make

3. Let’s meet next Wednesday… shall we _____ 4.15?

A. arrange

B. say

C. suggest

D. see

4. Would next _________ be OK?

A. day

B. morning

C. week

D. afternoon

e) Ordering(Finish the sentence with the correct phrase).

1. I’d like to ___________ about flights.

A. find

B. enquire

C. question you

D. tell me

2. Tax is $50 on ________ of that.

A. plus

B. end

C. bottom

D. top

3. I’d like to book a hotel room ___________.

A. proficiently

B. provisionally

C. professionally

D. prescriptively

4. I’ll call you back later to ___________.

A. speak

B. assure

C. confirm

D. certify

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