Hello and welcome back to English with Lucy.
Today, I'm going to teach you English for
the telephone.
I know, I hate speaking on the phone too,
but it is an essential part of feeling completely comfortable with your English
speaking and fluency.
To help you further, I've also created a
digital telephone English guide.
This contains everything we cover in the
lesson today, alongside audios and extra exercises.
You can get this for free.
If you'd like to download it, just click on the link in the description box, you
enter your name and your email address, you sign up for my mailing list and the
PDF guide will arrive directly in your inbox.
After that, you will automatically
receive my free weekly PDFs alongside my news, course updates and offers.
It's a free service, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Today, you are going to listen to 3 telephone conversations and we're going
to talk about some of the language used in each.
From making plans with friends to making reservations and navigating professional
calls, we're going to cover it all.
Let's jump into our first scenario.
Hello?
Hey, Jesse, how are you?
I'm sorry, who is this?
What, you don't have my number saved?
It's me, Drew!
Oh, of course!
Sorry about that, Drew!
Yeah, I just got a new phone.
How's it going?
Great, thanks.
I was calling coz I was thinking, why
don't we organise a reunion with our uni friends?
It's been ages!
I'd love that!
Let me call that old pub we used to go to
and see if I can book a table.
How about Friday night?
Brilliant!
Friday night is perfect.
Let me know how it goes.
Call me at my office, the number is 0344317963.
OK, sounds like a plan.
Chat soon.
Bye!
Jesse used the most common of phrases to answer the phone.
Hello, hello.
Adding that slightly raised O at the end
makes this greeting more of a question, signifying that Jesse doesn't recognise
the number and was not expecting the call.
It's almost like saying, who are you and
why are you calling me?
Maybe not that extreme, but you get the point.
If she had been more animated in her tone , like hello!
Or hey there!
we would assume
that she knew who was on the other end of the line.
Of course, you can answer the phone in numerous ways, and all of that is detailed
in the PDF guide.
After Jesse answers the phone, Drew
attempts to start a conversation, but Jesse isn't sure who she's speaking to.
She says, I'm sorry, who is this?
This is a great question to try to get
information from an unknown caller without being rude and saying, who are you?
Consider using some of these other polite questions when you want to politely ask
about the identity of a caller.
You can say, sorry, I didn't catch your
name.
Who is this?
Or may I ask who's calling, please?
That one's quite formal and would be great to use in a professional setting.
Okay, let's talk about let me.
Drew says, let me know how it goes, let
me know how it goes.
The structure is usually, let me +
verb.
Let me check, let me get back to you.
Right, moving on, we also heard Drew give
his phone number when he told Jesse to call him at his office.
Did you notice anything unique about how he gave that number?
Let's listen to that again.
The number is 0344 431 7963.
In the UK, it's common to replace zero with O when giving a phone number or any
string of numbers over the phone.
There's also another unique aspect of
giving numbers over the phone.
If we have 2 of the same number in a
row, we often say double the number, double 3, double 9, double O,
7, double O 7.
We also say each number on its own, like
the ending portion of Drew's phone number, 7963, not 7963.
This way, it's super clear, and nobody gets confused.
And now, let's look at one more important
aspect of a phone conversation, the closing.
How you end your phone call can vary
greatly depending on who you're talking to.
In Drew and Jesse's conversation, the
end was quite informal, chat soon, bye!
That's a colloquial way of saying let's
talk again soon.
You would probably only be that casual if
you were talking to close friends or family.
I've got a few more common phrases in the
PDF guide, but here are some important tips to keep in mind when ending a phone call.
Ensure that the closing phrase clearly indicates that the conversation is ending.
Match your tone to the context of the conversation, professional or casual.
In professional calls, a quick recap of key points or action items can be helpful
and always end on a polite note to leave a positive impression.
Okay, I think it's time to move on and listen to Jesse's conversation with the pub.
Thanks for calling the Royal Tavern;
this is Billy speaking.
How can I help you?
Good afternoon.
I'd like to book a table for 7 PM on Friday, the 21st.
Certainly,
for how many people?
There'll be a group of 10.
Excellent.
Can I have your name, please?
It's Jesse Potter.
Sorry, I didn't quite catch that.
Did you say ‘Jenny’ Potter?
No, it's Jesse -
J as in Juliett, E as in Echo, S for
Sierra, S for Sierra, E as in Echo.
Thank you for the clarification.
You're all booked in for Friday at 7 PM.
Brilliant,
see you then!
Okay, we've got some great phrases here and some very important phone etiquette
to talk about.
Let's start by looking at this slightly
more formal greeting from the gentleman at the pub.
Thanks for calling the Royal Tavern.
How can I help you?
The way we answer the phone in a business setting is different from how we would
answer the phone normally.
It's common to state the company name so
that callers know they've reached the correct place of business.
But did you notice how Billy gave his name?
He didn't say I am Billy or my name is Billy.
He said, this is Billy.
We hardly ever say I am name or my name
is over the phone except in specific situations.
Saying this is name on the phone is very
common because making a clear and direct introduction is necessary.
We can't see each other.
It also answers the question we saw at
the start.
Who is this?
Even if the question wasn't asked, you're making it clear who is speaking when you
use this is.
It establishes the speaker's identity and
it's suitable for professional and more formal situations.
You will most likely hear its name in casual conversations, which is an
informal version of this is.
Hi, it's Lucy, for example.
When calling to make reservations, book a hotel or request information, it's
important that you know the specifics of your request or inquiry and have all the
necessary information close to hand.
This will help you feel more comfortable
when you're on the phone, and it will make the process faster.
You should start with a polite greeting and clearly explain your purpose for calling.
Then provide all of the relevant details as clearly as possible.
Now, Billie used a wonderful phrase after Jesse gave her name, saying sorry, I
didn't quite catch that.
You can use this phrase when you don't
understand what someone has said or if they are speaking too quickly.
Maybe you didn't hear it because of the quality of the phone call.
Here are some other phrases you can use.
Sorry, can you speak more slowly?
Or would you mind saying that again, please?
There are lots more examples in the guide.
We also heard Jesse spell her name in a very specific way.
Let's listen to that again.
J as in Juliet, E as in Echo, S for
Sierra, S for Sierra, E as in Echo.
We need to talk about the NATO phonetic alphabet.
The NATO phonetic alphabet assigns specific words to letters, for example,
alpha for A or Bravo for B, in order to avoid misunderstandings when spelling a
word, especially over the phone.
While you don't have to use it and you
can choose your own words, like E for elephant, for example, the NATO phonetic
alphabet is standardised to ensure precise communication across different
languages and accents.
I've put the full NATO phonetic alphabet
in the PDF.
You don't have to memorise it, but if
you're going to work on the telephone a lot, it will help.
Okay, let's have a look at the closing of our conversation.
Billy did a great job of wrapping up this conversation by giving a quick recap of
the key points discussed.
He said you're all set for Friday at 7 PM.
Jesse made it clear that the information was correct by saying, brilliant, see you
then. Shall we move on to the final part?
Good afternoon, thank you for calling
Urban Enterprises.
Who can I put you through to?
Hello, may I speak to Drew Lancaster, please?
I believe he works in advertising.
May I ask who's calling?
This is Jesse Potter.
Could you hold for one moment, please?
I'll see if Mr Lancaster is available.
I'm sorry, but Mr Lancaster is in a meeting right now.
Would you like to call back later, or can I take a message?
Yes, if you can.
Just let him know that we're all set for Friday.
Of course, I'll pass on the message.
Have a lovely day.
Thank you very much.
Bye!
Here, the language was quite formal.
The receptionist, the person responsible for handling a business' incoming phone
calls, answered the phone with a classic business greeting.
Jesse does a great job at matching the receptionist's level of formality.
We heard the modal verbs can, may and could, and these modal verbs are used to
make polite requests.
Could and may are more formal than can.
The receptionist also asked an important question, who can I put you through to?
To put somebody through to somebody means to connect somebody to another person by phone.
After Jesse requests to speak to Drew, the receptionist asks if he can put her
on hold.
To put somebody on hold means to
temporarily pause a telephone conversation, typically to retrieve
information or to transfer the call to somebody else.
There are also other phrases you can use depending on the formality of the
situation, and you will find those in the PDF guide.
We also heard the receptionist give 2 options, would you like to call back
later, or can I take a message?
I'm sure you don't need me to explain the
phrasal verb to call back later.
However, I should mention that phrasal
verbs are often considered informal, but this one is so common that it is used
quite frequently in relatively formal exchanges too.
We also heard can I take a message?
To take a message means to write down or
otherwise, record information from a caller to pass it on to someone else.
Finally, the receptionist gave Jesse a very polite farewell to end the call
after he said he would pass on the message.
Of course, there are also loads of other
phrases and important vocabulary that you can use in this type of business
situation, and where can you find those?
In the PDF guide.
And there you have it, 3 different scenarios to help you navigate telephone
conversations in English with ease.
Remember, practice makes progress, don't
be afraid to use these phrases in your next phone call and just calmly repeat
yourself if someone doesn't understand you.
Don't be afraid to ask someone else to
repeat themselves if you need it to.
I will mention one other thing and this
is quite exciting.
We're currently working on some business
English courses, courses designed for students who have the goal of speaking
English in their profession or at work.
If you are learning English because you
have the goal of one day working in English, join the waiting list for my
courses, they are going to be released soon.
I've left the link for that in the
description box too.
I can't say too much about it, but they're
going to be awesome.
I will see you soon for another lesson.
Bye!