CONVERSATION

Communicative skills are very important. Communicating properly on the phone is especially important, as the person you are speaking to cannot see your facial movement or your body language. They rely completely on what you are saying, and how you are speaking, to understand you fully.

As well as speaking clearly when talking on the phone, it is vital to use the right level of formality. If you are too formal, people might find it difficult to feel comfortable when talking to you. If you are too informal, they might think you are being rude!

Introduction / Making Contact

If answering a business call, start by introducing yourself or if the caller fails to identify themselves, then you could ask them to state who they are by using the following phrases:

Formal

·         “Hello”

·         “Good Morning”

·         “Good Afternon”

·         “This is ___ speaking”

·         “Could I speak to ___ please?”

·         “I would like to speak to ___”

·         “I’m trying to contact ___”

Informal

·         “Hello”

·         “Hi, it’s ___ here”

·         “I am trying to get in touch with ___”

·         “Is ___ there please?”

Giving more information

This would probably be used in a business context mainly, but could sometimes be helpful in an informal conversation too. It is good to specify where you are calling from, if you feel it may be helpful to the person you are calling.

Formal

·         “I am calling from ___”

·         “I’m calling on behalf of ___”

Informal

·         “I’m in the post office at the moment, and I just needed ___”

Taking / Receiving a Call

You may need to use these if you are answering someone else’s phone, because they are unable to answer it themselves, or if you are answering an office phone.

Formal

·         “Hello, this is ___ speaking”

·         “___ speaking, how may I help you?”

Informal

·         “Hello, John’s phone”

 

Asking for more information / Making a request

If you need to ask for a specific person, then phrase your request as a polite question, if you only have an extension number and no name, you can say so. If you’re calling for a specific reason, just explain briefly what it is.

 Formal

·         ‘May I ask who’s calling please?’

·         ‘Can I ask whom I’m speaking to please?’

·         ‘Where are you calling from?’

·         ‘Is that definitely the right name/number?’

·         ‘Could I speak to someone who ___?’

·         ‘I would like to make a reservation please’

·         ‘Could you put me through to extension number ___ please?’

                                                               

Informal

·         ‘Who’s calling please?’

·         ‘Who’s speaking?’

·         ‘Who is it?’

·         Whom am I speaking to?

                                                  

Asking the caller to wait / Transferring a call

If you are transferring a caller to someone else, you should let them know that you are doing so, just so they know what is happening, as the silent tone could be mistaken for a disconnected line! If you are the one being transferred, you will often hear the person use the following phrases:

Formal                                 

·       ‘Could you hold on a moment please’

·       ‘Just a moment please’

·       ‘Hold the line please’

·       ‘I’ll just put you through’

·       ‘I’ll just transfer you now’

Informal

·         ‘Hold on a minute’

·         ‘Just a minute’

·         ‘Okay, wait a moment please’

Giving Negative Information

If you are the one answering a call, you might not be able to help the caller. You can use some of the following phrases in these circumstances:

Formal

·         ‘I’m afraid the line is busy at the moment’

·         ‘That line is engaged at the moment, could you call back later please?’

·         ‘I’m afraid ___’s busy at the moment, can I take a message?’

·         ‘I’m sorry, he’s out of the office today’

·         ‘You may have dialled the wrong number’

·         ‘I’m afraid there’s no one here by that name’

Informal

·         ‘Sorry, ___’s not here’

·         ‘___ is out at the moment’

Telephone Problems        

If you don’t understand everything the other person is saying, be honest. Tell the other person immediately, otherwise you might miss some important information! Most people will appreciate your honesty, and will be happy to oblige.

Formal

·         ‘I’m afraid I can’t hear you very well’

·         ‘Would you mind speaking up a bit please?’

·         I’m afraid my English isn’t very good, could you speak slowly please?’

·         ‘Could you repeat that please?’

Informal

·         ‘Sorry, I didn’t catch that’

·         ‘Say that again please?’

·         ‘I can’t hear you very well’

·         ‘Sorry, this line is quite bad’

 

Leaving / Taking a Message

If the person you’re calling is not available, be prepared to leave a message. This could be a voicemail, (which is a digital voice recording system), or an answering machine (this records messages onto a tape). If you’re leaving a message with another person, they’ll either ask if you want to leave a message, or you could request to leave a message with them. Be sure to leave your number, if you want the other person to call you back!

Formal

·         ‘Can I take your name and number please?’

·         ‘Can I leave a message please?’

·         ‘Could you please ask ___ to call me back?’

·         ‘Could you spell that for me please?’

·         ‘Can I just check the spelling of that please?’

Informal

·         ‘I’ll ask him to ring you when ___ gets back’

·         ‘Could you tell ___ that I called please?’

·         ‘I’ll let ___ know that you rang’       

Saying Goodbye

The easiest part of the conversation! Simply be polite, and speak with a friendly manner.

Formal

·         ‘Thank you for calling’

·         ‘Have a good day’

·         ‘Goodbye’

Informal

·         ‘Bye!’

·         ‘Talk soon’

·         ‘Speak to you again soon’

Example of phone conversations using the english languange

Rani     : Hallo.. Rani in here
Ruve    : Hallo Ran, it is me Ruva
Rani     : Oh yeah ruva. Long time no see, how are you? What are you busy at?
Ruva    : Im fine, how about you Ran? Hm.. I’m busy college at Gunadarma  University. Btw i need your help
Rani     : Im fine too. Wah thats good. Alraight, what can i help you?
Ruva    : I have event in my class, my chairman of class asking me about recomendation place for the event. So, do you have recomendation place?
Rani     : Hm.. I think I have some recomendation place at..
Ruva    : Wait wait! I took a pen and book. And then where your recomendation place?
Rani     : At Bandung, Teenager Sociality Villa’s
Ruva    : Hah? What? Can you spell the villa’s name?
Rani     : “T-E-E-N-A-G-E-R-S S-O-C-I-A-L-I-T-Y” 
Ruva    : Wah! I know this place! Is it at Lembang?
Rani     : Exacty!! At Lembang Street no. 15, that where teenagers really! Do you want her contact? I think I saved her contact
Ruva    : I want! Can you spell her contact?
Rani     : The number is 0-8-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Ruva    : Okey let me to repeat the number. 0-8-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 is it true?
Rani     : Yes it is, Ruv
Ruva    : Okey Ran, I want give this information to my chairman of class. Thank you
Rani     : Yeah you’re welcome
Ruva    : See you next time, bye Rani
Rani     : See you too, bye Ruva