TELEPHONING I

II. OPENING AND CLOSING TELEPHONE CONVERSATION 

1. OPENING A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION

- Good afternoon.
- May I ask who's calling?
- Hello.
- How can I help you?
- May I ask the reason for your call?

Phrases for opening a phone conversation

Here are some expressions you can use to greet someone on the phone.

Good morning.

Good afternoon.

Good evening.
Hello.

If the person doesn't introduce himself or herself, you can ask who is calling.

May I ask who's calling?

You can then ask why the person is calling.

How can I help you?
May I ask the reason for your call?


Good afternoon  , Open Range Limited, Lucy speaking. May I ask who's calling , please?

Roger Fairbanks, from Green Tech? Hello .  How can I help you ? ... You'd like to speak to

Christopher Marlow, our CEO? I'm afraid he's attending a conference in Stockholm.

May I ask the reason for your call? … Ah, I see … You'd like to arrange a meeting. 

2. RECORDING IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Ah, I see … You'd like to arrange a meeting. OK, let me check his schedule . Can you hold for a moment?

Mr. Marlow is free next Wednesday, May 12th at 3 p.m. Is that convenient for you ? … It is? Great. So, next

Wednesday, May 12th at three. Could I have your number , please?

Mm-hmm. Let me read that back to

you … 3-3-3-6-6-9-1-2-1-5. And how do you spell your name ? F-A-I-R-B-A-N-K-S

3. CLOSING A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION

Closing a phone call

Several phrases can be used at the end of a phone call. To promise to follow up later, use the following phrases.

I'll get back to you soon to confirm.

I'll call you back as soon as possible.

To be polite, you can thank the person.

Thanks for calling.

Thank you for your time.

At the very end of the call, you can say goodbye.

Goodbye.

Have a nice day.

And how do you spell your name? F-A-I-R-B-A-N-K-S. OK, I'll get back to you soon to confirm the appointment.

Thanks for calling . Goodbye 

III. CONFIRMING ARRANGEMENTS AND TAKING NOTES

1. ASKING FOR REPETITION

Asking for repetition

Here are some phrases to ask the caller to repeat himself or herself.

I'm sorry, could you repeat that, please?

Did you say tomorrow at 11 a.m.?

I'm sorry, I didn't catch that.

Can you say that again, please?

Good morning, Open Range Limited, Rick speaking. How can I help you? … Oh, good morning, Mr. Fairbanks … Ah yes, you're meeting Chris for lunch tomorrow, is that right? He's just stepped away from his desk for a moment, but I can take a message for him … You've booked a table … at the … I'm sorry, I didn't catch that . Did you say the Montmartre? And how do you spell that? … M-O-N-T-M-A-R-T-R-E? So, if I can just confirm the details. That's lunch tomorrow, Wednesday, May 19th, at 1 p.m., at the Montmartre restaurant. Is that correct? Good. And what's the phone number of the restaurant? … 8-4-8-2-2-2-4-4 … I'm sorry, could you repeat that, please? Mmm. Mmm-hmm. Let me read that back to you: 8-4-8-2-2-2-4-8-4-8. Yes, I'll see he gets it right away. Thank you, Mr. Fairbanks. Goodbye.

2. CONFIRMING ARRANGEMENTS

Confirming arrangements

Since it's sometimes hard to hear clearly on the phone, you'll need to confirm and clarify the information. Here are some expressions to repeat the information back to the caller for confirmation.

Let me read that back to you. Let me double check the details. If I can just confirm the details. You can ask whether you've got the correct information using the following questions. Is that right? Is that correct?

Good morning, Open Range Limited, Rick speaking. How can I help you? … Oh, good morning, Mr. Fairbanks …

Ah yes, you're meeting Chris for lunch tomorrow, is that right ? He's just stepped away from his desk for a moment,

but I can take a message for him … You've booked a table … at the … I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Did you say the

Montmartre? And how do you spell that? … M-O-N-T-M-A-R-T-R-E? So, if I can just confirm the details . That's lunch

tomorrow, Wednesday, May 19th, at 1 p.m., at the Montmartre Restaurant. Is that correct ? Good. And what's the phone

number of the restaurant? … 8-4-8-2-2-2-4-4 … I'm sorry, could you repeat that, please? Mmm. Mmm-hmm. Let me

read that back to you: 8-4-8-2-2-2-4-8-4-8. Yes, I'll see he gets it right away. Thank you, Mr. Fairbanks. Goodbye.

3. WRITING A PHONE MESSAGE

Symbols and abbreviations

When taking messages over the phone, you may need to write down a large amount of information quickly. Symbols can make writing faster: @ means at, $ means money, and + means and.

Meet Jenny @ conference room, bring $ + invoices (Meet Jenny at the conference room; bring money and invoices.) Abbreviations are ways to shorten words.  For example, pls. can be used instead of please, pg. can mean page, and approx. means approximately. Pls. write approx. 10 pgs. (Please write approximately 10 pages.) Meet @ main gate @ approx. 10 a.m. Pls. bring $ to Rita @ front desk. Pls. make report approx. 3 pgs. longer. Message for: Chris From: Mr. Fairbanks Telephone number: 8482224848 Message: Lunch @ Montmartre restaurant, Wed., May 19 @ 1 p.m. Taken by: Rick

IV. RESCHEDULING AN APPOINTMENT 

1. POLITE FORMS IN PHONE CONVERSATIONS

Being polite

Use modal verbs such as could, would and may to speak more politely. Could and may are often used to make a request, where would is often used to ask about preferences.

When would be good for you?      

Could I suggest meeting on Thursday instead?

May I speak to Jean, please?

Here are some polite ways to apologize.

I'm terribly sorry.

My apologies for any inconvenience.

May I speak to Martin, please?

Could I suggest Tuesday for lunch?

I'm terribly sorry about that.

Where would be convenient for you to meet?

Good afternoon. This is Christopher Marlow, CEO of Open Range Limited. Could I speak to Roger Fairbanks, please? … Oh, hi, Roger. Yes, fine thanks … Actually, that's why I'm calling. Listen, I'm terribly sorry , Roger, I'm afraid something's come up. I'm on my way to the airport as we speak. Would you mind if we rescheduled tomorrow's lunch? … Great, when would be good for you? Well, I'm coming back on Thursday afternoon. How about Friday? … Sorry, let me just check my diary. Instead of lunch, could we do dinner? Great. Does 7 p.m. work for you? … Yes? Great! Where would you like to meet? … Actually, could I suggest the Trastevere restaurant? What do you think? … Yes? Great. I'll reserve a table for us. Once again, my apologies for any inconvenience. Anyway, see you Friday. Bye.


2. MAKING ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS

Making alternative arrangements

First, ask the other person if it's okay to reschedule.

Would you mind if we rescheduled?

Use instead of, actually, and how about ___? to suggest changes to the plans.

Instead of lunch, could we meet for dinner?      

Actually, could I suggest a different restaurant?

How about meeting on Thursday?

1. Instead of the lobby, we should meet at the main gate.

2. Actually , I have another suggestion.

3. How about changing our meeting to a later date?

4. Would you mind if we rescheduled dinner to next week?

3. CHECKING ARRANGEMENTS

Checking preferences

Sometimes you may wish to ask an open-ended question about when and where someone prefers to meet.

When would be good for you?

What do you think?

You may also want to suggest a specific day or time.

Is 6 p.m. convenient for you?

Does Monday work for you?

Let me know if next week is okay.

1. What time would be good for you?

2. Is Friday the 18th convenient for you ?

3. Let me know if you're okay with that.

4. The new Japanese restaurant is good. What do you think ?

Would you mind if we rescheduled tomorrow's lunch? … Great, when would be good for you ? Well, I'm coming back on Thursday afternoon. How about Friday? … Sorry, let me just check my diary. Instead of lunch, could we do dinner? … Great. Does 7 p.m. work for you ? … Yes? Great! Where would you like to meet? … Actually, could I suggest the Trastevere restaurant? What do you think ? … Yes? Great. I'll reserve a table for us. Once again, my apologies for any inconvenience. Anyway, see you Friday. Bye.