Hi, everyone! This is Abbe from Mosalingua.
Today... [phone ringing]
Uh oh!
I used to be so afraid of talking on the phone
that I could barely even order a pizza in my native language!
So imagine how scared I was when I moved to France and I had to deal
with talking on the phone in French. I still prefer corresponding by email or text,
or even face to face. But sometimes you just can't avoid talking on the phone.
Today, I'm going to give you some solutions to make making and receiving
phone calls in English as painless as possible, and I'm going to introduce key vocabulary
you need to know before you pick up the phone.
If you hate talking on the phone too, like this video and subscribe to our channel.
We regularly post new videos about all different aspects of language learning to help you
face your fears and master new languages.
Speaking of fears, let's get to the root of the problem
and find out why so many people are terrified of speaking on the phone in the language they're learning.
The main fear is that you won't understand the person you're talking to.
Phone conversations can be more challenging than face-to-face conversations,
since you don't have the visual elements like body language to help you.
Also you might just not hear them as well.
These problems can usually be solved by
writing a script and learning a few important phone-specific phrases.
If you're the one making the call, you know exactly why you're calling
and what information you need to get. This makes it really easy to write down what you
want to say, just in case you forget. I'll show you an example in just a minute.
Once you have a script, act it out in front of a mirror a few times before you dial.
Now, I know that if you receive an unexpected call, it can be scarier,
because you don't have time to prepare. But if you memorize a few emergency phrases,
like the ones you'll hear in just a minute, you'll be just fine.
Now, every phone call falls into one of three main categories: informal phone calls
with friends or family members are just like face-to-face conversations.
You don't need to worry too much about any special phone etiquette.
If you need to make phone calls in English for work, I really recommend downloading
our Business English app, because it includes some of those more formal phrases that you really need to know.
And in the middle you have semi-formal conversations.
For example: ordering a pizza, making an appointment or gathering information
about a business's hours or location. That's the main category we're interested in today.
Let's listen to a typical semi-formal phone call.
Feel free to pause the video and write down any important expressions or vocab.
-- Hello, Socks Galore. How may I help you ?
-- Hi! Is the owner available?
-- May I ask who's calling?
-- I'm sorry I didn't get that.
Could you repeat that please?
In this first part of the phone call, you've already heard some common phrases in action.
When answering the phone in a formal or semi-formal situation, it's important to say your name.
You could say, "Hello, this is Abbe," or just, "Hello, Abbe here!"
If you're answering the phone at work you could say, "Mosalingua, Abbe speaking."
-- I said can I tell the owner who is calling?
-- Yes, this is Abbe, from MosaLingua.
-- Thank you Abbe. Let me check! Please hold.
-- I'm sorry. She isn't in at the moment.
Can I take a message?
-- Well... then may I speak to the manager?
-- Speaking!
-- Sorry... I don't have a very good reception. Say again.
-- I said yes, this is she.
There's a few more emergency phrases for you.
-- I'm calling about the socks I ordered.
I should have received them three weeks ago...
and my feet are very, very cold.
-- I'm very sorry to hear that miss.
Do you have an order confirmation number?
-- Yes. It's SK593B.
Lots of English letters sound similar, especially over the phone.
So, look up a list of words that are typically associated with each letter.
For instance, the NATO phonetic alphabet.
You know: A as in Alpha, B as in Bravo, etc. And keep the list by your phone, for reference.
Hey! There's even one in our Business English app!
-- S, as in Sierra, K, as in kilo, 5 9 3, B as in Bravo.
-- Thank you.
It looks like the socks you ordered are sold out currently.
We're waiting for them to be restocked.
Would you like me to give you a call
when they arrive at our warehouse?
-- Yes, please.
-- Can you confirm your phone number for me, please?
-- (412) 366-9102
Make sure you know your own phone number by heart.
It's best if you can say it in the format of the country you're in.
For example: in the US, we usually say every number as a single digit,
with a short pause where there's a hyphen in the written number.
And we say "oh" instead of "zero."
-- And your address?
-- 156 App Street.
-- Could you spell that for me?
-- A-P-P.
-- Great! Your order should be on its way very soon!
-- Great. So to confirm:
you will call me before my socks ship.
Get some kind of confirmation to make sure you didn't miss any important information.
For example, by repeating what you think you heard back to the person you're speaking to.
If it's appropriate, for example, if you just made an appointment, you could also ask the person
to send you an email with the date and time you agreed on.
-- Yes. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
-- No. That will be all. Thank you.
-- You're very welcome! Have a nice day miss.
-- Thank you. Goodbye.
-- Bye now!
If you watch a lot of English TV or movies, you may have noticed that
no one ever says goodbye before hanging up the phone. Well... that's not how it works in real life!
Be sure to end your conversation properly or you risk coming off as rude!
See? That wasn't so scary! For a written recap of this video, check out the articles below.
If you want to learn more business English,
including how to deal with professional phone calls, try MosaSeries 2.
It's the second season of our original audio series
and a course designed for intermediate to advanced learners
who want to improve their listening comprehension skills.
And it has an entrepreneurial twist! See you again soon!
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See you next time!