Giving reasons for calling

At the beginning of the phone conversation it’s best to clarify why you are calling. This helps both speakers talk about what’s relevant.

7. I’m calling to ask about/discuss/clarify…

I’m calling to ask about your current printing promotion.

8. I just wanted to ask…

I just wanted to ask if you need any more articles for next month’s magazine.

9. Could you tell me…?

Could you tell me the address of Friday’s networking event?

 

Small talk

Whenever you want to be friendly with someone, you can make small talk. You can ask them about their day, or you may be more specific if you remember details from your past conversations.

10. Hi, [first name], how are you?

This one is more general and you can use it when you don’t remember anything specific to ask about.

11. How are you getting on with…?

This second phrase is more specific and should be used if you remember certain details. This will make the other person feel good about talking to you and may even improve your relationship. For example, if you remember that a company will move to a new office building, you might ask:

How are you getting on with preparations to change office buildings next month?

 

Taking messages

If you answer a phone call and the caller wants to speak to someone who is unavailable, you should take a message. You can do that in any of the following ways:

I’m sorry, she/he’s not here today. Can I take a message?

I’m afraid he/she’s not available at the moment. Can I take a message?

This response doesn’t tell the caller why “he/she” is unavailable. However if you know why, and it’s okay to share that information, you might say something like this:

I’m afraid she’s in a meeting until 4 p.m. Can I take a message?

Could I ask who’s calling, please?

You can use this phrase to politely find out who is calling.

I’ll give him/her your message as soon as he/she gets back.

After you’ve written down the caller’s message, you can say this phrase.

Leaving messages

On the other hand, when you make a phone call and the person you want to talk to is not there, you should leave a message for them. Here’s what you could say:

16. Could you please take a message? Please tell her/him that…

Could you please take a message? Please tell her that Cindy from accounting called about Mr. Shapiro’s expense reports.

17. I’d like to leave her/him a message. Please let her/him know that…

I’d like to leave him a message. Please let him know that tomorrow’s lunch meeting is cancelled.

 

Asking when somebody will be available

If you don’t want to leave a message, you can ask when would be a good time to call again:

When is a good time to call?

When is she/he going to be back?

 

Asking for information

When you ask people to give you information, it’s important to be polite. Using the modal verb “could” and a question is helpful in this case.

Could I ask what company you’re with?

Could you give me your mobile number, please?

 

Asking the other person to repeat information

Don’t worry if you can’t always understand people on the phone. It happens to native speakers all time! Just ask the person to repeat the information for you: “I’m sorry, could you please repeat that? ”

If you have to write down names, it’s best to ask people to spell words out for you. You can use either of the following two phrases:

Could you spell that for me, please?

How do you spell that, please?

It’s always safe to repeat important information just to double check:

Let me see if I got that right.

Let me see if I got that right. Your name is Barack Obama, O-B-A-M-A, and your phone number is 555-222-1111, correct?

Sometimes the connection is bad and it’s okay to ask the other person to speak more loudly:

Would you mind speaking up a bit? I can’t hear you very well.

Whenever you don’t understand something, it’s best to ask. The information may be important, so just ask them to repeat it for you:

I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your first name.

 

Making arrangements

If you have to make arrangements, it’s important to be polite as you negotiate. Here are some phrases you might use:

Shall we say January 20?

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