Helen: Midtown Computer Solutions, Helen speaking. How can I help you?
Ryan: Hello, this is Ryan Bardos. May I speak with Natalie Jones, please?
Helen: One moment please – I’ll put you through.
Helen: Mr. Bardos? I’m sorry, Natalie’s in a meeting at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?
Ryan: Yes, could you ask her to call me back as soon as possible? It’s pretty urgent.
Helen: Of course. Does she have your number?
Ryan: She has my office number, but let me also give you my cell – it’s 472-555-8901.
Helen: Let me read that back to you – 472-555-8901.
Ryan: That’s right.
Helen: And could you spell your last name for me?
Ryan: B as in Boston – A – R – D as in dog – O – S as in September
Helen: Okay, Mr. Bardos. I’ll give her the message.
Ryan: Thanks a lot. Bye.
Now let’s listen to the second part of the conversation, when Natalie calls Ryan back.
Ryan: Hello?
Natalie: Hi, Ryan, this is Natalie returning your call.
Ryan: Hi Natalie, thanks for getting back to me. I was calling about the shipment of keyboards for our office – we haven’t gotten them yet.
Natalie: Oh, that’s not good – they were supposed to be delivered three days ago.
Ryan: Exactly, and we have a new group of employees starting on Monday, so we really need those keyboards as soon as possible.
Natalie: Okay, I’ll look into it right away – if necessary, we can send you an emergency overnight shipment.
Ryan: Thanks, Natalie, I appreciate it.
Natalie: No problem, Ryan. I’ll call you back a little later, as soon as I have more information.
Ryan: Sounds good – talk to you soon.
Natalie: Bye.
Telephone English Phrases – Formal Conversation
From these conversations, we can learn phrases for beginning a phone call, taking and leaving messages, checking and clarifying information, and finishing a phone call.
BEGINNING A CALL
When Helen answers the phone, she says, “Midtown Computer Solutions, Helen speaking. How can I help you?” This is a common way for a receptionist at a company or organization to answer the phone. Here are a couple alternatives:
- “Thank you for calling Midtown Computer Solutions. How may I direct your call?”
- “Midtown Computer Solutions – good afternoon.”
To introduce yourself, you can say: “Hello, this is…” and if you want, you can add your company name:
- “Hello, this is Ryan Bardos.”
- “Hello, this is Ryan Bardos from Paramount Publishing.”
Then, ask to speak to somebody by using the phrases:
- “May I speak with…?”
- “Could I speak with…?”
You can also add the phrase “I’m calling about…” or “I’m calling to…” in order to give a reason for your call. Use “I’m calling about…” to introduce a topic, and “I’m calling to…” to introduce an action:
- “I’m calling about the job opening I saw in the newspaper.”
- “I’m calling to register for the upcoming conference.”
To connect or transfer the call, the receptionist says, “One moment please – I’ll put you through.” A few other phrases for transferring a call are:
- “Please hold.”
- “I’ll transfer you.”
- “May I ask who’s calling?” / “Who’s calling, please?”
If you forgot to identify yourself at the beginning of the call, the receptionist will sometimes use this phrase to ask for your name.
TAKING / LEAVING MESSAGES
Unfortunately the person Ryan wants to speak to is not available, and the receptionist says “I’m sorry, Natalie’s in a meeting at the moment.” Here are some additional phrases to use when another person can’t answer a telephone call:
- “I’m sorry, she’s on another call.”
- “I’m sorry, Natalie has left for the day.”
- “I’m sorry, Natalie’s not in her office right now.”
- “I’m sorry, she’s out of town at the moment.”
- “I’m sorry, she’s not available at the moment.”
Then, there are two common phrases that are used for offering to take a message:
- “Would you like to leave a message?”
- “Can I take a message?”
If you don’t want to leave a message, you can say: “No thanks, I’ll call back later.”
There are two polite ways to leave a message. You can make a statement starting with “Please” or a question starting with “Could you…” – usually followed by the verbs ask, tell, or remind and then “him” (if the message is for a man) or “her” (if the message is for a woman).
- “Could you ask her to call me back?”
- “Please ask him to call me back.”
- “Please tell him/her that the documents are ready.”
- “Please remind him/her that he/she has a dentist appointment tomorrow.”
CLARIFYING/CONFIRMING INFORMATION
While taking the message, the receptionist used two phrases for checking and confirming information:
- “Let me read that back to you.”
- “Could you spell your last name for me?”
The verb “spell” means to say the letters of the word. Ryan replies:
- “B as in Boston – A – R – D as in dog – O – S as in September.”
It’s common to use phrases like “B as in Boston” and “S as in September” with letters that can be frequently confused with others, such as B and D, S and F, or M and N.
FINISHING A CALL
When you want to finish the conversation, you can use “signal phrases” – these are phrases indicating that the conversation is coming to an end:
- “Well, it was nice talking with you.”
- “Thanks for calling.”
- “Anyway… I should let you go / I should get going.”
If you want to promise future contact, you can use one of the phrases from the second conversation:
- “I’ll get in touch in a couple of days.”
(get in touch = contact you) - “I’ll call you back a little later”
- “Talk to you soon.”
Then you can finish the conversation with one of these “final phrases”:
- “Bye.”
- “Take care.”
- “Have a nice day.”
Response: “You too. Bye.”
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