How to Speak English on the Telephone with Confidence

Your complete guide to speaking English on the telephone.

For more great free resources, tips and help with Business English, visit us at http://blog.tjtaylor.net

One of the most important Business English skills is how to make a call, receive or transfer a phone call. This guide will show you all the basic and standard sentences you need to learn, or you can just refer to the various sections whenever you need.

I hope it helps you feel more confident the next time you have to use the phone or take part in a conference call in English.

Transcript

1. How to Use English on the Telephone
2. TJ Taylor This guide will help you with business telephone calls
3. TJ Taylor Good news! To use English on the telephone you just need some basic template phrases for the common tasks
4. TJ Taylor This guide includes how to:  make, answer, and receive phone calls in English  avoid and solve communication problems  make arrangements
5. TJ Taylor 5 sections How to:  Make a call  Answer & transfer a call  Receive a call  Make arrangements  Avoid communication problems
6. TJ Taylor Use this guide as a reference OR Learn 3 phrases every day for 1 month
7. Make a call
8. TJ Taylor Say who you are  This is [name]  It’s [name] informal
9. TJ Taylor Ask to speak to someone  Could I speak to [name], please?  Could you put me through to [name], please?
10. TJ Taylor Leave a message  I’d like to leave a message for [name]  Could you ask [name] to call me back?  Could you tell [name] I called?  Can I give you my number?
11. TJ Taylor You get through to the wrong person  Sorry, is that [name]?  I’m sorry I think I’m through to the wrong extension  I’m sorry, I think I’ve got the wrong number
12. TJ Taylor Check if the person has time to talk  Is this a good time to talk?  Do you have five minutes?
13. TJ Taylor Explain why you’re calling  Good morning / afternoon / evening. I’m calling / phoning …  about our meeting / our latest offer / the email you sent …  to talk to you about … , to arrange a meeting, to make a complaint, to …  I’m returning a call from [name]
14. TJ Taylor End the call  I think that was all  That’s it, I think  I look forward to hearing from you soon/ meeting you soon  Speak to you/ see you/ I’ll be in touch soon  Thanks a lot. Bye  You’re welcome. Bye
15. Answer & transfer a call
16. TJ Taylor Answer the phone  Hello? informal  Hello, how can I help you?  Hello, [name of company]?
17. TJ Taylor Transfer a caller  One moment please, I’ll try to connect you  Putting you through
18. TJ Taylor Ask caller to wait  Please hold  Would you like to hold the line?  Would you mind holding?
19. TJ Taylor You can’t put the caller through …  I’m sorry there’s no answer  I’m sorry the line’s busy / engaged  I’m afraid he/she’s on another call at the moment
20. TJ Taylor The person the caller wants is not available  I’m afraid he/she’s …  not available just now  out of the office  away on business  He/she should be back …  at (time)  on (date)  Tomorrow continued…
21. TJ Taylor  Would you like to call back later?  Can I take a message?  Would you like to leave a message?  Would you like [name] to call you back?  Could I take your name and number, please?
22. Receive a call
23. TJ Taylor Confirm who you are  [name] speaking  This is [name]
24. TJ Taylor Ask who is calling and why  May I ask who’s calling?  May I ask what this is about?
25. TJ Taylor Thank caller for returning your call  Thanks / thank you for calling back  Thanks for getting back to me
26. TJ Taylor You receive a call intended for someone else  I’m sorry, I think you’ve got the wrong number  I think you were put through to me by mistake
27. TJ Taylor You are busy  I’m sorry I’m on my way to a meeting right now  Could I call you back in a few minutes?  This isn’t a good time. Can I get back to you?
28. Make arrangements
29. TJ Taylor Ask for a meeting or appointment  Shall we meet next week?  Can we schedule a meeting for next week?  Could we set up a meeting for [day]?
30. TJ Taylor Find a time and day  When would be convenient for you?  What day/ time would suit you?  How about/ What about [day]?  Could you manage the week after next?  Let me check my diary
31. TJ Taylor Suggest alternatives  I’m afraid I can’t make it then. Do you think we could meet in the afternoon instead?  Could we make it earlier/ later/ the following day?
32. TJ Taylor Agree on a location  Shall we meet at …  Where would you like to get together?  Let’s meet in …
33. TJ Taylor Confirm arrangements  Right, so that’s 10.30 next Tuesday at your office  Could you email me the details?
34. Avoid communication problems
35. TJ Taylor Technical problems  I’m afraid this is a very bad line  The reception is very bad here  Let me try and ring you back  I’m sorry, we were cut off  Sorry, the line dropped
36. TJ Taylor You don’t understand the caller  I’m sorry, could you slow down a bit?  I’m afraid this is a bad line. Could you speak up, please?  I’m afraid I didn’t catch the first / last part  I’m sorry I didn’t get that. What was that again?  Could you repeat that, please?
37. TJ Taylor Check the spelling  Let me spell that for you  Could you spell that, please?  Can I read that back to you?  Could you read that back to me?
38. TJ Taylor Confirm and summarise  Can I just check what we’ve agreed?  Let me see if I’ve got that right  Can I just summarise the details?
39. Learn more
40. TJ Taylor Improve your Business English with more great resources, tips and free guides at our blog: http://blog.tjtaylor.net Click here to visit