TELEPHONE ESSENTIALS

Below are 6 common phone call dialogues. You can read and or listen to the

dialogues.

Dialogue 1. Telephone conversation company to company call.

ROHAN: Hello, English Essentials, Rohan speaking.

DERYN: Hello it's Deryn Kennedy speaking from ABC Pty. Ltd., Is that Rohan Cox?

ROHAN: Yes it is. How can I help you Deryn?

DERYN: I am ringing to let you know that your order for 2,000 Dictionaries has

been processed and they will be delivered to you tomorrow.

ROHAN: Oh wonderful, thanks very much.

DERYN: Ok. Is there anything else we can do for you Mr. Cox?

ROHAN: No, not at the moment. That will be fine, thanks.

DERYN: Ok, thank you. Bye for now.

ROHAN: Bye.

Prepared by: e4e Inc.

Dialogue 2. Telephone conversation company to company call. The person you

want to speak with is not there and will return your call.

ROHAN: Hello, English Essentials, Rohan speaking.

DERYN: Hello it's Deryn Kennedy speaking from ABC Pty. Ltd., I would like to speak

with Stewart Cox if he is available thanks.

ROHAN: Oh I'm sorry Deryn, he has just gone out of the office, can I take a

message or get him to call you back?

DERYN: Sure. I will leave my details so he can call me back ok?

ROHAN: Ok. What is your number there please?

DERYN: 090 2349 5668

ROHAN: Ok, I'll have Stewart call you when he returns in a few minutes.

DERYN: Ok, thanks. Bye.

ROHAN: Bye.

Prepared by: e4e Inc.

Dialogue 3. Telephone conversation company to company call. The person you

want to speak with is not there and you will call them back.

ROHAN: Hello, English Essentials, Rohan speaking.

DERYN: Hello it's Deryn Kennedy speaking from ABC Pty. Ltd., I would like to speak

with Stewart Cox if he is available thanks.

ROHAN: Oh I'm sorry Deryn, he has just gone out of the office, can I take a

message or get him to call you back?

DERYN: Oh, it's ok. I will call him back later. What time are you expecting him

back?

ROHAN: He should be here in 20 minutes time, so you can call anytime after that,

he will be here then.

DERYN: Oh ok, I will call then thanks very much.

ROHAN: Ok, bye.

DERYN: Thanks. Bye.

Prepared by: e4e Inc.

Dialogue 4. Telephone conversation friend to friend call, your friend answers

the phone.

ROHAN: Hello.

DERYN: Hi Rohan, how are you?

ROHAN: Oh I'm doing well thanks Deryn. How have you been?

DERYN: Excellent thanks. Would you like to go to see a movie this weekend?

ROHAN: It depends on what day and time.

DERYN: What about Saturday night at 8 o' clock, is that convenient for you?

ROHAN: Yeah, Saturday night is ok, I am busy most of the day Saturday and also

on Sunday night, but Saturday night is fine.

DERYN: Great. How about we meet at the West exit at ah Yokohama train station

and we could walk down to the Yokohama cinema from there?

ROHAN: Sure that sounds great. Thanks for calling Deryn, I have to go now, I'm a

little busy, sorry. But I will see you this Saturday night around 7:30pm ok?

DERYN: Ok great, thanks, bye Rohan.

ROHAN: See you later Deryn.

Prepared by: e4e Inc.

Dialogue 5. Telephone conversation friend to friend call, your friend does not

answer the phone (someone else does) but your friend is home.

ROHAN: Hello.

DERYN: Hello this is Deryn speaking I would like to speak with Stewart please ?

ROHAN: Are you a friend of his?

DERYN: Yes I am.

ROHAN: Oh ok, I will go and get him for you.

DERYN: Thank you.

STEWART: Stewart speaking.

DERYN: Hi Stewart, it's Deryn.

Now you can continue this conversation as above.

Dialogue 6. Telephone conversation friend to friend call, your friend is not

home.

ROHAN: Hello.

DERYN: Hello it's Deryn speaking, I would like to speak to Stewart please ?

ROHAN: Sorry, he is not here. Can I take a message?

DERYN: Certainly. Could you please let him know that Deryn Kennedy called, and if

he could call me back, that would be great.

Prepared by: e4e Inc.

ROHAN: Ok, sure. He won't be home until late tonight, is that still ok?

DERYN: Yes, that's fine, I don't go to bed until 2 or 3am, so anytime is fine,

thanks.

ROHAN: Ok sure, bye.

DERYN: Bye.

Telephone English - Important 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

Prepared by: e4e Inc.

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?

Leaving 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.

1. Introduction - - - - Hello, this is Ken. OR Hello, My name is Ken Beare (more

formal).
2. 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 ...
3. Make a request - - - - Could you call (ring, telephone) me back? / Would you
mind ... ? /
4. Leave your telephone number - - - - My number is .... / You can reach me
at .... / Call me at ...
5. Finish - - - - Thanks a lot, bye. / I'll talk to you later, bye.

Prepared by: e4e Inc.

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.

• Do not say you have understood if you have not. Ask the person to
repeat until you have understood.

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.

• If the person does not slow down begin speaking your own language!

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

Prepared by: e4e Inc.

 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 :-)!

Reference:

http://www.english-essentials.com/tips/telephone.htm

http://esl.about.com/od/businessspeakingskills/a/t_vocab.htm

Prepared by: e4e Inc.