Learning how to communicate well on
the telephone is one of the top
priorities for many students who
need to use English at work.
Learning the common phrases that are
used on the telephone helps students
know what to expect. However, what
students often need most is practice,
practice, and more practice. While
helpful, practicing a role-play in
the classroom is not always the best
way to improve telephoning skills.
Telephoning requires special skills
as there are a number of
difficulties that arise when
telephoning that are specific to
telephoning. The first and foremost
difficulty is not being able to see
the person you are communicating
with. This lack of visual
communication often makes students,
who can communicate quite
successfully in other situations,
nervous and thereby hinders their
communicative abilities. Add to this
the typical hectic pace of business
communication, and you have a
particularly difficult situation.
This
feature includes a number of
ingredients to improve telephoning
skills. Included you will find
specific telephoning phrases,
telephoning techniques to improve
confidence when telephoning and
telephoning practice exercises for
use with your colleagues or in the
classroom.
Follow
the links to the following
information and exercises:
Telephone English -
The Phrases
There are a number of
phrases and idioms that are only
used when telephoning. Let's first
take a look at an example dialogue:
Here are the most common:
-
Operator:
Hello, Frank and Brothers, How can I
help you?
-
Peter:
This is Peter Jackson. Can I have
extension 3421?
-
Operator:
Certainly, hold on a minute, I'll
put you through...
-
Frank:
Bob Peterson's office, Frank
speaking.
-
Peter:
This is Peter Jackson calling, is
Bob in?
-
Frank:
I'm afraid he's out at the moment.
Can I take a message?
-
Peter:
Yes, Could you ask him to call me at
. I need to talk to him about the
Nuovo line, it's urgent.
-
Frank:
Could you repeat the number please?
-
Peter:
Yes, that's , and this is Peter
Jackson.
-
Frank:
Thank you Mr Jackson, I'll make sure
Bob gets this asap.
-
Peter:
Thanks, bye.
-
Frank:
Bye.
As you can see, the
language is rather informal and
there are some important differences
to everyday English. Look at the
chart below for key language and
phrases used in telephone English:
Introducing yourself
This is Ken.
Ken speaking
|
Asking who is on the
telephone
Excuse me, who is this?
Can I ask who is
calling, please?
|
Asking for Someone
Can I have extension
321? (extensions are
internal numbers at a
company)
Could I speak to...?
(Can I - more informal /
May I - more formal)
Is Jack in? (informal
idiom meaning: Is Jack
in the office?
|
Connecting Someone
I'll put you through
(put through - phrasal
verb meaning 'connect')
Can you hold the line?
Can you hold on a
moment?
|
How to reply when
someone is not available
I'm afraid ... is not
available at the moment
The line is busy...
(when the extension
requested is being used)
Mr Jackson isn't in...
Mr Jackson is out at the
moment...
|
Taking a Message
Could (Can, May) I take
a message?
Could (Can, May) I tell
him who is calling?
Would you like to leave
a message?
|
Sometimes, there may
not be anyone to answer the
telephone and you will need to leave
a message. Follow this outline to
make sure that the person who should
receive your message has all the
information he/she needs.
-
Introduction
- - - - Hello, this is Ken. OR
Hello, My name is Ken Beare (more
formal).
-
State the time of day
and your reason for calling
- - - - - It's ten in the morning.
I'm phoning (calling, ringing) to
find out if ... / to see if ... / to
let you know that ... / to tell you
that ...
-
Make a request
- - - - Could you call (ring,
telephone) me back? / Would you mind
... ? /
-
Leave your telephone
number
- - - - My number is .... / You can
reach me at .... / Call me at ...
-
Finish
- - - - Thanks a lot, bye. / I'll
talk to you later, bye.
Here's an example of
message
Telephone:
(Ring... Ring... Ring...)
Hello, this is Tom. I'm afraid I'm
not in at the moment. Please leave a
message after the beep..... (beep)
Ken:
Hello Tom, this is Ken. It's about
noon and I'm calling to see if you
would like to go to the Mets game on
Friday. Could you call me back? You
can reach me at 367-8925 until five
this afternoon. I'll talk to you
later, bye.
As you can see,
leaving a message is pretty simple.
You only need to make sure that you
have stated all the most important
information: Your Name, The Time,
The Reason for Calling, Your
Telephone Number
Tips for Getting
People to Slow Down!!
One of the biggest
problems is speed. Native speakers,
especially business people, tend to
speak very quickly on the telephone.
Here are some practical tips to get
native speakers of English to slow
down!
-
Immediately ask the
person to speak slowly.
-
When taking note of a
name or important information,
repeat each piece of information as
the person speaks.
This is an especially
effective tool. By repeating each
important piece of information or
each number or letter as the spell
or give you a telephone number you
automatically slow the speaker down.
Remember that the
other person needs to make
himself/herself understood and it is
in his/her interest to make sure
that you have understood. If you ask
a person to explain more than twice
they will usually slow down.
A sentence or two of
another language spoken quickly will
remind the person that they are
fortunate because THEY do not need
to speak a different language to
communicate. Used carefully, this
exercise in humbling the other
speaker can be very effective. Just
be sure to use it with colleagues
and not with a boss :-)!
Exercises for
Practicing Speaking on the Telephone
The most important
thing about practicing telephone
conversations is that you shouldn't
be able to see the person you are
speaking to on the phone. You may
ask, 'How can I do that if I am
practicing with a friend or another
classmate?' Here are a few
suggestions for practicing phone
calls without looking at your
partner:
-
If you are in the
same room
- Put your chairs back to back and
practice speaking on the phone, you
will only hear the other person's
voice which will approximate a
telephone situation.
-
Use the telephone
- This is pretty obvious, but really
not used that often. Give your
friend a call and practice various
conversations (role plays).
-
Use internal office
phones at work
- This is one of my favorites and
great for business classes. If your
class is on site (at the office) go
to different offices and call one
another practicing conversations.
Another variation is for the
students to go into another office
and have the teacher telephone them
pretending to be a native speaker in
a hurry. It's then up to the
students to make sure they have
communicated what they need, or
understood what the caller wants.
This exercise is always a lot of fun
- depending on how good your teacher
is at acting!
-
Tape yourself
- If you are practicing alone, tape
standard answers and then practice
using the tape recorder stopping and
starting to simulate a conversation.
-
Real life situations
- Businesses are always interested
in telling you about their products.
Find a product you are interested in
and research it over the telephone.
You can ...
-
call a store to
find out the prices and
specifications.
-
ring the company
representative to find out
details on how the product
works.
-
telephone a
consumer agency to find out if
the product has any defects.
-
call customer
service to find out about
replacement parts, etc.
Here are some role
plays for you to use in practicing
your telephone English.
Requesting Travel
Information
Choose a city in your
country. You are going to travel to
this city for a business meeting
over the next weekend. Telephone a
travel agency and reserve the
following:
-
Round-trip flight
-
Hotel room for two
nights
-
Restaurant
recommendation
-
Prices and departure
times
You work in a travel
agency. Listen to student A and
offer him/her the following
solutions:
-
Round-trip flight:
Air JW $450 Coach, $790 First Class
-
Hotel room for two
nights: Hotel City $120 a night in
the downtown area, Hotel Relax $110
a night near the airport
-
Restaurant
Recommendation: Chez Marceau -
downtown - average price $70 a
person
You need to purchase
six new computers for your office.
Call JA's Computer World and ask for
the following information:
-
Current special
offers on computers
-
Computer
configuration (RAM, Hard Drive, CPU)
-
Guaranty
-
Possibility of
discount for an order of six
computers
You work in at JA's
Computer World answer student A's
questions using the following
information:
-
Two special offers:
Multimedia Monster - with latest
Pentium CPU, 256 RAM, 40 GB Hard
Drive, Monitor included - $2,500 AND
Office Taskmaster - cheaper CPU, 64
RAM, 10 GB Hard Drive, Monitor not
included - $1,200
-
1 Year guaranty on
all computers
-
Discount of 5% for
orders of more than five computers
You want to speak to
Ms Braun about your account with her
company, W&W. If Ms Braun isn't in
the office, leave the following
information:
-
Your name
-
Telephone number:
347-8910 (or use your own)
-
Calling about
changing conditions of your contract
with W&W
-
You can be reached
until 5 o'clock at the above number.
If Ms Braun calls after 5 o'clock,
she should call
458-2416
You are a
receptionist at W&W. Student A would
like to speak to Ms Braun, but she
is out of the office. Take a message
and make sure you get the following
information:
-
Name and telephone
number - ask student A to spell the
surname
-
Message student A
would like to leave for Ms Braun
-
How late Ms Braun can
call student A at the given
telephone number
You are a salesperson
for Red Inc. You are telephoning a
client who you think might be
interested in buying your new line
of office supplies. Discuss the
following information with your
client:
-
New line of office
supplies including: copy-paper,
pens, stationary, mouse-pads and
white boards
-
You know the customer
hasn't ordered any new products
during this past year
-
Special discount of
15% for orders placed before next
Monday
-
Any order placed
before Monday will not only receive
the discount, but also have its
company logo printed on the products
at no extra charge
You work in an office
and receive a telephone call from
your local office supplier. As a
matter fact, you need some new
office supplies so you are
definitely interested in what the
salesperson has to offer. Talk about
the following:
-
New pens, stationary
and white boards
-
Do they have any
special offers
-
You would like to
place an order for 200 packages of
copy paper immediately
Teaching Telephone
English for Business ESP English
Classes
Teaching telephone
English can be frustrating as
students really need to practice
their skill as often as possible in
order to improve their comprehension
skills. Once they have learned the
basic phrases used in telephoning,
the main difficulty lies in
communicating without visual
contact. This lesson plan suggests a
few ways to get students to practice
their telephoning skills.
Aim:
Improving Telephoning Skills
Activity:
Role playing using office telephone
lines
Level:
Intermediate to advanced
-
Review phrases used
in telephoning. See
Telephone
English: Dialogue and Appropriate
Vocabulary
-
Ask each student to
write out notes for a telephone
conversation that they would
typically have with a native speaker.
Example: Order 500 Liters
of Olive Oil - Delivery: Next Friday
- Payment Method: Company Account -
Address: Student's Company Address -
Telephone/Fax: Student's Telephone/Fax,
etc.
-
Ask students to
choose another student who should
respond to the call for which he/she
has written notes.
-
This next step is the
most important, and if possible goes
a long way to improving students'
skills. Use internal office
phones at work - This is one of
my favorites and great for business
classes.
-
Stress the fact that
students need to understand and take
note of everything crucial. If they
do not understand they need to ask
you to repeat, tell you to speak
more slowly - anything that is
needed to understand. For tips see:
How to
Telephone: Tips and Tricks to Make
Sure a Native English Speaker Slows
Down!
-
Ask your students to
go to a different office, make sure
to get the extension for the office.
Ask students to take notes on the
call.
-
Now, this is when
your acting skills come in handy!
Take the various notes, call the
other extension and ask for the
person suggested by the student who
wrote the notes.
-
You've made it to
Hollywood now! Take a variety of
roles and act them out on the phone.
Really put your students through the
paces. You can be angry, impatient,
in a hurry, etc.
-
Once you have
repeated this exercise, get students
to call each other in their own
offices to repeat the exercise.
Remember it is crucial to actually
use the phone, as the difficulty
lies in understanding English over
the phone. If students need
suggestions see:
Role Plays:
Role Play Dialogue Cues to Practice
Telephoning with Friends
Finally, if you don't
have the opportunity of using
different telephone lines put
students' chairs back to back and
practice speaking on the phone,
students will only hear the other
person's voice which will
approximate a telephone situation.
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