Making a telephone call - the basics

Making a telephone call in a second language can be a stressful experience. But, if you’ve done your preparation properly, you’ll feel more self-confident. You’ll know what results you want to achieve and you’ll have practiced the vocabulary you need to use to get those results.

If you then have a clear idea of how to structure the call in the right way, this will also make the call a lot easier.

In this module we look at how you can start the call in the right way, how you can control the conversation, how you can end the call appropriately and how you can continually improve your telephone performance.

A. Getting the start right

B. Giving your name

C. Keeping in control

D. Getting the end right

A. Getting the start right. The first minute of a call is very important. If you start well, your confidence increases and you create a good impression.

There are three things to note.

ü Using Good morning or Good afternoon is a very common form of greeting on the phone. If you are talking to someone in a different time zone, it can sound odd but, on the other hand, it does show them that you are phoning from another part of the world. Secondly, say who you’d like to speak to. Thirdly, say where you are calling from. Stating clearly that this is an international call often gets you preferential treatment.

ü You don’t normally have to give your name to a switchboard operator. Leave it up to them to ask for it. They might say:

§ Who shall I say is calling?

§ What name shall I say?

§ May I have your name, please?

ü The reply then could be something like this:

§ This is Claudio Basso from PGC in Milan.

ü If you don’t know the name of the person you would like to speak to but only their title or position, you can say:

§ I’d like to speak to the Finance Manager, please. I’d like to speak to the person in charge of accounts.

B. Giving your name. If you are walking down the street and you hear your name being called, you turn around immediately. Your name is an important part of your persona and you react accordingly. So how should you give out your name when making a call in English? Look at these three possibilities.

1. This is / My name is Mrs. Gonzales.

If you use this form of introduction, it tells the person you are calling that you want the relationship to be formal. They can only call you Mrs. Gonzales and there is no opportunity to exchange first names. Remember that many cultures look to use first names as soon as possible in business, so you will have to decide whether and when this approach is appropriate.

2.This is / My name is Maria Gonzales.

By giving both of your names you allow the other person to choose what to call you. They can decide whether to be formal or informal. If you want to help them, you could emphasize the name you would prefer to be called like this:

3. My name is Maria, Maria Gonzales.

This is Mrs. Gonzales, Mrs. Maria Gonzales.

Again, you need to decide what you think is most appropriate for the situation.

4. This is Maria. / Maria here.

Use this form when you know the person you are calling and have already established first name terms.

C. Keeping in control. There are five main things you can do to make sure that your calls in English are effective.

Have an agenda. Establish the direction of the call right from the start. You can use your Objectives Post-it as a guideline. Discuss what you want to get out of the call and add anything the other person thinks should be discussed. ‘I think there are three things we need to discuss about the deliveries: quantities, frequency and delivery points. Do you have anything you would like to add? ’

If you take the initiative to introduce and create an agenda for the call, it has three positive effects:

ü it puts you in charge and allows you to direct the conversation

ü it limits the call to those areas where you feel linguistically prepared

ü it creates a shared understanding of the purpose of the call.

Set a time limit. We are all busy people. So tell the other person how much time you think the call should take.

§ Hi, Paul. I’m just calling about the arrangements for the stand at the Trade Fair. It should take about 15 minutes. Do you have the time now?

§ Judith, have you got five minutes to go through the agenda for next week’s meeting?

Or, if you feel this is not appropriate, ask them how much time they have. Look, I have to be in a meeting in five minutes. Can we cover the arrangements for the stand now, or shall I call you back later?

Talking about how long the call should take focuses people’s minds and allows you to move them along if the call is taking too long. You might find you will need to cut some calls short because of time pressure: ‘Look, I’m afraid I have to go now. Let’s talk again tomorrow. Sorry Paul, I’ve got a conference call booked for 10.30. Can we continue this later? ’

Ask questions: You can lead a conversation by asking questions. By asking the right questions you can focus the other person’s thoughts and start the process of coming to conclusions.

§ Don’t you think the right approach would be to deliver to only three warehouses in future?

§ What if we deliver to three warehouses rather than four? Wouldn’t that be just as effective?

§ Wouldn’t you say that delivering to three warehouses would be just as effective?

You can use the answers to this type of question to move towards an agreement and conclusion.

Summarize: Do this at regular intervals. This is good telephone practice in any language but it is very important when you are working in a second language. This is where making notes is very useful.

§So what we’ve agreed so far is...

§I just need to make sure I’ve understood everything you’ve said. Perhaps I could summarize what we’ve said so far - to make sure I’ve got everything.

Email to confirm details: Double check that you have both understood what has been discussed and agreed

§ I’ll send you an email to confirm what we have just discussed.

By using these simple techniques you can make effective and time-saving calls. This is what you usually want in your busy working life and the person at the other end of the line will also appreciate it.

D. Getting the end right

Here are the five steps you need to follow to end a call in a professional way.

Confirm: Summarize the key details and agreements made. Remember to get confirmation from the other person and to ask if you have left anything out.

So I’ll find out about the exact costs and send you an email by Friday. You ‘11 then make a decision whether to buy the in-house seminar by the beginning of next month. OK? Is that right? Good. Was there anything I’ve left out?

Thank: Say thank you to the caller for their time, for their help, for their call, for their enquiry or for their order. This shows respect for the efforts of the other caller and appreciation for their part in the call. Show that the call has been a successful one.

Well, thank you very much for taking the time to go through this with me. I think we’ve cleared up any outstanding questions and we both know what the next steps are.

Look forward: Look forward to the next time you contact each other. Be specific about dates and times if you can. Ask for help in making future contacts. Get permission to contact the caller if necessary.

I look forward to hearing from you in the first week of April, then. If I need to get in touch before that, what’s the best time to call? And is this the best number to call on?

Be positive: End positively - leave a good feeling. You want the other caller to put down the phone and think the call was successful and the caller pleasant to talk to. Refer to anything you have learnt if you have made small talk during the call.

§ Have a good weekend.

§ Enjoy your holiday.

§ Have a good time at the theatre tomorrow.

§ Give John my regards.

Try to avoid saying: ‘Have a nice day’. This has become overused and sounds rather mechanical and not at all sincere.

Saying goodbye: Show clearly that the call is over. There is nothing worse than an awkward silence at the end – it can ruin an otherwise good call. ‘Nice talking to you ’is a useful phrase to reinforce good feelings and remember that ‘Bye’ is friendlier and less formal than ‘Goodbye’. Another phrase is ‘Right. That’s all, I think. Nice talking to you. Bye.’

Telephone calls – messages

People are not always at their desks at work. This means that you have to take messages on behalf of your colleagues, leave messages on voice mail systems and create your own outgoing voice mail messages in English.

We will start by looking at active listening on the phone, which is an important general skill, and then go on to look at how to take messages effectively. Then we’ll focus on understanding and saying telephone numbers correctly and with spelling. Finally, we will look at making good outgoing messages for your own voice mail and at leaving clear messages in other people’s mailboxes. We’ll pay attention to five aspects.

ü Active listening

ü Taking a message

ü Telephone numbers and spelling

ü Creating your own voice mail message

ü Leaving clear messages

A. Active listening

Active listening is the skill of focusing your attention fully on the speaker and what they are saying. It is a key skill on the telephone, where you don’t have the benefit of being able to observe the speaker’s body language and behavior. It helps you to build rapport with your contact person and to concentrate on what they are trying to say to you, and it also allows you to really understand the key points in any messages you have to pass on to colleagues. So what are the features of active listening?

Showing interest We do this by using encouraging sounds, words or phrases like Mmm, I see; Right, I understand; Really; Great; Precisely. These signals tell our partner that we have understood and want them to continue. We can also use expressions such as Oh, dear! Oh, no! and How terrible! to sympathize if something has gone wrong.

Repetition A good listener repeats key words in a sentence to check they have understood and to encourage the speaker to continue speaking.

Speaker I’ll be arriving on Thursday.

Listener On Thursday?

Speaker That’s right. I’ll be flying into Sydney.

Asking questions Questions should be relevant and move the conversation along. Not only does the listener check their understanding, but it is also another way of expressing interest.

§ What did you mean when you said…?

§ When was that?

§ Why did he go there?

Allowing silence A short silence of a few seconds gives you and the other person the opportunity to think. But be careful – too long a silence can become oppressive and put pressure on you and your partner.

Summarizing Short summaries are useful for both conversation partners – the speaker can correct any misunderstandings and the listener feels reassured.

B. Taking a message

It can be stressful to have to take a telephone message. We can’t keep control of the situation, sometimes we don’t manage to get all of the main points and then have to work out the missing information after we have put the phone down and finished the call.

This is the information you need to get from the caller:

Name Try to get both first and last names so that there can be no confusion over which Mrs Smith it was who called. You could use any of the following phrases:

‘May I have your name, please? ’, ‘ Who shall I say called? ’, ‘ Could I take your full name, please? ’, ‘ Could you spell that for me, please? ’

Don’t be embarrassed about asking callers to spell their name. They will be glad you took the trouble to get it right.

Company or organization This is important for the person to whom you give the message later. Is it a business or personal call? Have they had contact with this organization before?

Where are you calling from, please?

Which company do you represent?

Again, be prepared to ask the caller to spell it for you.

Telephone number Get the complete number, including country and area codes.

And the number?

Do you have the country code for Slovenia?

Don’t forget to repeat the number back to the caller. This allows you to check that you have heard it correctly and gives the caller a feeling of security. We will look at this in more detail in the next unit.

Reason for the call Try to get a clear statement of why the person is calling. May I ask what it’s about?

And could I ask what the reason for your call is?

Action In other words, should the call be returned or other action taken, or is it just for information? Maybe the caller will call back later.

Does she need to return the call?

Shall I ask her to call you back or will you call back later?

He’s expected back after two - can you call back then?

Special information This could be times when the caller is available to take a call later, or time differences when calling internationally.

When can she call you?

When would you be free to take his call?

So that’s two o’clock British time - three o’clock German time.

Don’t forget to summarize all this information for the caller so that they can correct any misunderstandings. You will sound professional and competent, and the caller then feels sure that their message will be passed on correctly. And remember to add the date and time of the call to the message you pass on to your colleague [13, 17].

Here is an example of a good message. It could equally well be spoken on a person’s voicemail:

 

Michael Green from Atco Ltd phoned. His number is 0044 or the UK, 208 852 612. He wants to arrange a meeting when you are in London. Could you call him back this afternoon after 1 p.m. British time? – That’s 2 p.m. our time. Otherwise he’ll call again on Friday. He called at 10.30.

 

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