Telephoning in English

Telephoning in English

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CONTENTS: 1. General 2. Telephone etiquette 3. Suggestions 3 gg for… ¾ Answering the phone, introduction ¾ Asking for someone ¾ Someone is not at the number you called ¾ Transferring a call ¾ The person has another call ¾ The person is unavailable / availability ¾ Asking someone to repeat information ¾ Asking for the caller’s name ¾ Asking a person to clarify their name ¾ Messages Starting t ga and d eending d g a co conversation ve sat o ¾ Sta ¾ Answering services

4. Oral exercises 5. The international telephone alphabet 6 Number 6. N b pronunciations i i & symbols b l 7. Oral exercises & discussions

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GENERAL TEL·E·PHONE noun: An instrument that converts voice and other sound signals into a f form th t can be that b transmitted t itt d to t remote locations and that receives and reconverts waves into sound signals. verb: To communicate by telephone Synonyms: buzz call, buzz, call ring, ring dial, dial phone Idioms: get someone on the horn give someone a buzz Etymology: Tele- comes from the Greek form tele- , meaning afar, far off, while phone h comes from f th Greek the G k phonh meaning sound, voice.

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GENERAL

We do not telephone p to someone. No preposition is needed: ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾

We make a phone call We dial a number We contact someone by phone We give someone a call We give someone a ring We telephone someone W gett h We hold ld off someone We get in touch with someone

What does this mean? ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾

Put someone through P someone on h Put hold ld Hang up on someone Tie up the line

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TELEPHONE ETIQUETTE HOW TO SPEAK ¾ Speak with a rich, vibrant voice. Smile with your voice! ¾ Speak with a melodious rather than a monotone voice ¾ Speak moderately loudly at a moderate pace – varying both for appropriate emphasis HOW MANY RINGS TO ALLOW ¾ Answer no later than the third ring HOW TO GREET CUSTOMERS ON THE PHONE ¾ Discontinue any other conversation or activity such as eating, chewing gum, typing, etc that can be heard by the calling party. ¾ Give your first and last name and identify your department ¾ When transferring a call, be sure to explain to the caller that you are doing so and where you are transferring them. ¾ If the caller has reached the wrong department, department be courteous. courteous If possible, possible attempt to find out to whom they should speak. They will appreciate it. REMEMBER You may be the first and only contact a person may have with your department, and that first impression will stay with the caller long after the call is completed.

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SUGGESTIONS FOR… ANSWERING THE PHONE ¾ Company X, good morning. ¾ Company X, how may I help you? ¾ Company p y X,, Janet Jones speaking. p g ¾ This is Janet Jones of company X, good morning. INTRODUCTIONS ¾ Good morning, Kevin Black speaking. ¾ Hello. Hello This is Kevin Black here here. ¾ Good morning. My name is Kevin Black. ¾ This is Kevin Black speaking.

How tto G H Greett C Customers t on th the Phone Give your first and last name. Identify your department.

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SUGGESTIONS FOR… ASKING FOR SOMEONE ¾ Could I speak to Mr Smith Smith, please? ¾ I’d like to speak to Mr Smith, please? ¾ I’m trying to contact Mr Smith. ¾ Is Mr Smith available? ¾ Could you put me through to the HR department? ¾ Could you tell me what time the Managing Director will be available? ¾ Could you tell me who is in charge of invoicing? ¾ Could you transfer me to extension 34 34, please? ¾ Could you put me through to sales, please?

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SUGGESTIONS FOR… FOR SOMEONE IS NOT AT THE NUMBER YOU CALLED ¾ II’m m sorry, sorry but he doesn doesn’tt work here anymore. ¾ I’m sorry, he has retired. ¾ II’m m afraid we don’t don t have anybody here by that name. ¾ Sorry, there’s no one of that name working here. e s not ot at tthiss number u be a anyy longer. o ge . Hiss ¾ He’s new number is 122 078 ¾ I’m sorry but this is extension 232 not 323. ¾ Sorry, y, I think you’ve y got g the wrong g number. ¾ Would you like to speak to somebody else?

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SUGGESTIONS FOR…

TRANSFERRING A CALL ¾ II’ll ll check if he’s he s in. ¾ Just a moment please, I’ll put you through to Mr Smith. ¾ One moment please please, II’ll ll transfer you… ¾ Just connecting you now.

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SUGGESTIONS FOR… THE PERSON IS UNAVAILABLE ¾ I’m afraid Mr Smith is not available right now. ¾ I’m afraid Mr Smith is unavailable at the moment. ¾ I’m afraid Mr Smith is not in today. ¾ I’m I’ afraid f id M Mr S Smith i h is i iin a meeting. i ¾ I’m afraid Mr Smith is on holiday. ¾ I’m afraid Mr Smith is out for lunch. ¾ II’m m afraid Mr Smith is on sick-leave. sick-leave ¾ I’m afraid Mr Smith is on paternity leave. ¾ I’m afraid Mr Smith has just left for the day. ¾ I am sorry, but he is out of town. ¾ I’m sorry, there’s no reply. ¾ He’s not available this morning but if you could phone again this afternoon he should be in the office by then. I m afraid Mr Smith I’m abroad/away for a couple of days/away on business.

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SUGGESTIONS FOR… FOR AVAILABILITY ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾

He’ll be back tomorrow morning. He’ll ll b be b back k the h d day after f tomorrow. He’ll be back next week. He’ll be back in the afternoon. He’ll He ll be back later this afternoon. afternoon He’ll be back by noon on Wednesday. He should be available after two o’clock. He should be available before the meeting. He should be available at half past one. He should be available in an hour. H iis on lleave off absence He b until til M May 7th. He won’t be back until Friday. He’ll be at the office on the 23rd. He’ll He ll be free at two thirty. thirty He’ll be back from lunch after one o’clock.

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SUGGESTIONS FOR… ASKING SOMEONE TO REPEAT ¾ Sorry, y, I couldn’t hear what yyou said. ¾ Sorry, I can’t hear you. We have a bad connection. ¾ I’m afraid it’s a bad line. Could you y speak up, please? ¾ Could you speak a bit more slowly, please? ¾ Would you mind repeating that? ¾ Would you repeat your company’s name, please. ¾ Could ld you repeat that, h please? l ¾ Could you read that back to me, please?

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SUGGESTIONS FOR… ASKING FOR THE CALLER’S NAME ¾ May I ask who who’ss calling? ¾ Who’s speaking, please? ¾ Who shall I say is calling? ¾ May I have your name, name please? ¾ From whom can I leave a message? ASKING THE PERSON TO CLARIFY THEIR NAME ¾ Could you spell your name, please? ¾ How do you spell your name name, please? ¾ Would you mind spelling that, please?

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SUGGESTIONS FOR…

THE PERSON IS ON ANOTHER PHONE CALL ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾

I’m sorry, but the number’s engaged. I’m sorry, but the line is busy. Would you like to hold? Could you call back later? Would you like to wait until he has finished his call? ¾I’m sorry, but Mr Smith is on another line. ¾Shall I ask him to phone you back?

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SUGGESTIONS FOR… MESSAGES ¾ Would you like to leave a message? ¾ Could C ld I take t k a message ffor Mr M S Smith? ith? ¾ Can I give him a message? ¾ Shall I ask Mr Smith to call you back? ¾ I’ll ’ll pass on the h message as soon as he h gets in. i ¾ I could give you his mobile number if you need to contact him right away. ¾ Could C ld you please l ask k Mr Smith S i h to call ll me?? ¾ Could you take a message for him? ¾ Could you tell Mr Smith I rang?

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SUGGESTIONS FOR… STARTING THE CONVERSATION ¾ How are yyou,, Mr Smith? ¾ Nice to hear from you, Mr Smith. How are you? ¾ How are things going over there? ¾ How are things g with yyou, Mr Smith ¾ I am phoning you about… ¾ I’m calling to let you know that… ¾ I’m calling on behalf of Mr Jones. ¾ I got your message and I am returning your call regarding… ¾ Sorry to trouble you, but… ¾ Sorry to call ll you away ffrom your meeting, i b but…

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SUGGESTIONS FOR… FOR ENDING THE CONVERSATION ¾ It was nice talking to you, Mr Smith. ¾ Thank Th k you ffor calling, lli M Mr S Smith. ith ¾ I am glad you called. Thank you for the information. ¾ I hope I’ll be hearing from you soon. ¾ II’ll ll see to it first thing tomorrow tomorrow. ¾ I’ll check it straight away. ¾ I look forward to hearing from you soon. ¾ II’ll ll send you the quotation by mail mail. ¾ I’ll e-mail you the details. ¾ I’ll look forward to getting your confirmation next week. ¾ Thank you for your help. Bye. ¾ Until next Thursday then! ¾ I’ll g get back to yyou as soon as p possible. ¾ You'll be hearing from us very soon. ¾ I'll see you on the 30th then. ¾ See you soon! Goodbye, Mr Smith! 17

SUGGESTIONS FOR… ANSWERING SERVICE ¾ This is company X’s automatic answering service. service ¾ Our office hours are from 8am to 4 pm. ¾ Our office is closed for the holidays. ¾ Our office is closed between Christmas and New Year. ¾ Our office is closed until July 15th. ¾ We will be open p for business from Januaryy 2nd. ¾ Business will resume on August 16th. ¾ If you would like to leave a message press 1. ¾ Please state your name, telephone number and the reason ffor your call ll and d we will ill get back b k to you back as soon as possible. ¾ We apologise for any inconvenience. ¾ Thank you for calling and have a nice day. day

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ORAL EXERCISE FIND THE CORRECT PREPOSITION:

1. 2. 3. 4 4. 5. 6 6. 7.

Mr. Smith, your customer is __________the line. p __________Miss Jones,, p please? Could I speak Could you look ______________ a number __________the Yellow Pages __________me? Look __________the the classified section __________ telecommunications. Which department does he work __________ ? Y You won’t ’t find fi d me __________the th phone h book. b k I have h an unlisted number. We’ve been cut __________again. 19

ORAL EXERCISE

8. 9. 10 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

It’s a bad line. Hang __________and I’ll ring you back. He’s not __________I’m afraid. Can I put you _________ to his secretary instead? Do you happen to know the country code __________Sweden? I can’t ’ hear h you very well. ll Would ld you speak__________ k please? Make the bookings__________ phone, then send an email to confirm them. I’ll see if I can get hold__________ her __________ you. 20

ORAL EXERCISE

15. Mr. Smith, there’s a call_________ you. 16. I’m calling __________ your ad __________ today’s p p paper. 17. I’ll ring you back__________15 minutes. 18. Can you take our order_________ the phone? 19 Naturally I’ll 19. I ll send a confirmation confirmation_________ writing later__________. 20. He’s been _________ the phone__________ the last 45 minutes. minutes 21. Goodbye, and remember__________ give my regards __________ your wife. 21

ORAL EXERCISE

22. 23. 23 24. 25. 26. 27. 7 28.

I’m very grateful __________ you __________all your help. Don’t you have any record record__________ our order? We placed the order__________ you last month. Sorry, we have nobody here__________ that name. It’s still busy. She must have left the phone__________ the hook. There’s no Mr. Smith__________ this number,, I’m afraid. ‘Reverse charges’ means that they pay__________ the other end. 22

ORAL EXERCISE SITUATION: The called party is not in the office. Suggest a more tactful response: What You Mean: Mr. Smith is out.

¾ Tell the Caller: ¾ Mr. Smith is not in the office at the moment. Would you like to leave a message on his voicemail?

I don't know where Mr Smith is. Mr. is

¾ Mr. Smith has stepped out of the office. Would you like to leave a message on his voicemail?

Mr. Smith is in the men's room.

¾ Mr. Smith has stepped out of the office. Would you like to leave a message on his voicemail?

Mr. Smith hasn't come in yet.

¾ I expect p him shortly. y Would yyou like to leave a message g on his voicemail?

Miss Smith took the day off.

¾ Miss Smith is out of the office for the day. Could someone else help you or would you like to leave a message?

Miss Smith doesn't want to be disturbed.

¾ Miss Smith is unavailable at the moment. Would you like to leave a message on her voicemail? ¾ Miss Smith is unavailable right now. But if you call 09-1122445 in about an hour , she should be able to take your y call.

Miss Smith is busy.

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THE INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE ALPHABET Phonetic Pronunciations A B C D E F G H I J K L M N

ei bii sii dii ii eff dzi eit∫ ai dzei kei el em en

ICAO (International Ci il Aviation Civil A i ti Organization) Alfa Bravo Charlie Delta Echo F t t Fox-trot Golf Hotel India Juliet Kilo Lima Mike November

British

Alfred Benjamin j Charles David Edward F d i k Frederick George Harry Isaac Jack King London Mary Nellie

International

Amsterdam Baltimore Casablanca Denmark Edison Fl id Florida Gallipoli Havana Italyy Jerusalem Kilogram Liverpool Madagascar New York

A as in Alpha 24

THE INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE ALPHABET Phonetic Pronunciations O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

ou pii kju ju aar es tii j juu vii dabljuu eks wai zed, zii

ICAO (International Civil Aviation O Organization) i ti ) Oscar Papa Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango U if Uniform Victor Whiskey X-rayy Yankee Zulu

Å a with a small circle over it A capital ei

British

International

Oliver Peter Queen Quee Robert Samuel Tommy U l Uncle Victor William X-rayy Yellow Zebra

Oslo Paris Quebec Rome Santiago Tripoli U Uppsala l Valencia Washington Xantippe pp Yokohama Zurich

Ä a with two dots Ö o with two dots

O as in Oscar 25

NUMBERPRONUNCIATIONS & SYMBOLS NUMBER PRONUNCIATIONS 1 VAN 2 TOO 3 TREE 4 FOOR 5 FAIV 6 SIX 7 SEVEN 8 EIT 9 NAIN 0 SIIRO . De Si Mal

SYMBOLS ' @ ABCD abcd é è ~ ü .fi 2.3 .3

apostrophe at capitals lower case characters dash e acute e grave hyphen tilde u-umlaut dot fi two point po t tthree ee

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ORAL EXERCISE SPELL THE FOLLOWING NAMES

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Philip Denham C li J Caroline Johnson h Janet Fulton Maria Mensbrugghe Cheryl Knox Eleanor Urquhart Andrew Pennock Bob Joinel

9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Jennifer Wabsworth d l i Esterhazy h Madeleine Jouni Pääkkönen Mirja Uusimaa Mikko Tervajoki Stella Kyröjärvi Tuomas Välikoski Tina Mårtenson

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TELEPHONE JOKES A telephonic conversation… - Hello, are you there? - Yes, Yes who are you you, please? - Watt - What’s your name? - Watt is my name. - Yes, Yes what is your name? - My name is John Watt. - John what? - Yes. - ???? II’ll ll call you again again. - All right. Are you Jones? - No, I’m Knott. - Will you tell me your name then? - Will Knott. Knott - Why not? - My name’s Knott. - Not what? - Not Watt Watt, Knott! - What…

The telephone gives us the happiness of being together yet safely apart. C l Cooley, M Mason

Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone? Thurber, James

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ORAL EXERCISE Mr. Smith complains about the way he was treated over the phone on different occasions. Read his statements and disc ss them: discuss them 1. ”The caller was very rude and became offensive when I asked for his full name. He just wouldn wouldn’tt give it. it.” Exercise: Spell your name in English with the international telephone alphabet. 2. ” They let me talk on and on only to realize that they were not the person I should have been talking to.” Discussion: Can you recall a time this happened to you? 3. ”I called the wrong department for help, they didn’t give me any suggestions as to where I should be calling, they just said, 'I don't know,, not our department.'” p Exercise: What should the frequently asked questions be and what should you reply?

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ORAL EXERCISE 4. "They didn’t listen clearly to my needs, then they transferred me to the wrong person.“ Discussion: What should you find out before transferring a call? 5. ”I was disconnected when they transferred my call." Exercise: What vocabularyy would yyou use when transferring g a call? 6. "They answered with an aggravated voice, as if I disturbed them by calling.“ Di Discussion: i I what In h t situations it ti might i ht you b be annoyed d when h answering i the phone? DISCUSSION What is your opinion of good telephone etiquette? Do you find it differs in different countries and cultures? Have you personally got "hands-on" experience with good and bad telephone etiquette?

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Remember: presentation is everything. The way y you y present p yourself y f on the phone can leave lasting impressions of you and your department. Always treat callers as you would hope they would treat you.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

© Learnwell Oy www.thelanguagemenu.com

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