Learn how to ask to speak with somebody on the phone
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: How to Ask For a Specific Person on the Phone in English. Becky here. |
| John: Hi, I'm John. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask to speak with somebody on the phone. The conversation takes place over the phone. |
| John: It's between a receptionist and Linda. |
| Becky: The speakers are strangers; therefore, they will speak formal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Receptionist: Delta Corporation, how can I help you? |
| Linda: Good morning, my name is Linda Baker, I work for Green &Blue. Can I speak to Mr. Smith? |
| Receptionist: Yes, one moment, please. Can you please repeat your name? |
| Linda: Linda Baker, from Green &Blue. I only have a limited amount of time available to speak. |
| Receptionist: Please hold for a moment. I'll transfer you to Mr. Smith. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Receptionist: Delta Corporation, how can I help you? |
| Linda: Good morning, my name is Linda Baker, I work for Green &Blue. Can I speak to Mr. Smith? |
| Receptionist: Yes, one moment, please. Can you please repeat your name? |
| Linda: Linda Baker, from Green &Blue. I only have a limited amount of time available to speak. |
| Receptionist: Please hold for a moment. I'll transfer you to Mr. Smith. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Although phone calls are still used in business, other forms of communication are becoming increasingly popular. |
| John: Right. For communicating within the office and also with other companies, email is often the first choice. |
| Becky: Email is popular because you can contact several people at the same time and send documents. |
| John: Moreover, emails can be replied to when it’s convenient. |
| Becky: What about contact with customers? |
| John: For contacting customers, social media is becoming increasingly important. Many large businesses have an active social media presence on sites like Facebook and Twitter that allow them to communicate directly with their customers and clients. Some companies even resolve customer queries and complaints via their social media. |
| Becky: That seems to be quite convenient, also, for the customers. |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| John: Limited. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Having restrictions. |
| John: Limited. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Limited. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: To speak. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To have a conversation. |
| John: To speak. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To speak. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: One moment. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: A short period of time, usually only a few seconds. |
| John: One moment. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: One moment. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: To repeat. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To do or to say something again. |
| John: To repeat. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To repeat. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: To hold. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To keep or to detain. |
| John: To hold. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To hold. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And lastly... |
| John: Line. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: A telephone connection. |
| John: Line. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Line. [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| John: Corporation. |
| Becky: A corporation is a type of company. It’s a group of companies or people that act as a single legal entity. |
| John: You can tell that a company is a corporation because it will either have "corporation" as part of its name, or an abbreviation, such as Inc., which stands for "incorporated." |
| Becky: Corporations have to be registered and pay corporation tax. Can you give us an example using this word? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say, “He started up a new corporation.” |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| John: One moment. |
| Becky: This phrase is made up of two words. The first is the number "one," and the second is "moment," which indicates “a brief period of time.” Together, they mean "one brief period of time." |
| John: The phrase “one moment” or “a moment” is usually used when asking someone to wait for just a little bit. It can be used in formal and informal situations. Here is a sample sentence. “Please wait, it'll only take a moment.” |
| Becky: You might also hear "a few moments" used, but you’ll rarely hear them say anything else. |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask to speak with somebody on the phone. |
| John: First of all, in a business setting, if you are calling someone, you should always introduce yourself at the beginning of the call. |
| Becky: Even if the other person may have your phone number and know it’s you already from your caller ID? |
| John: Yes, it’s still polite to introduce yourself. |
| Becky: What do you say when introducing yourself over the phone? |
| John: Start with a simple greeting, such as “hello” or “good morning.” There are a few ways that you can say your name. |
| Becky: What do you say if you want to sound formal? |
| John: “Hello, my name is John Baker.” More casual introductions are “Hello, it’s John Baker,” or “Hello, John Baker here.” |
| Becky: So, in case you’re calling for the first time and want to add your company name, what would you say? |
| John: In such a case, be sure to use the preposition “from” or “at.” For example, you can say, “Hello, my name is John Baker from the ABC Company,” or “Hello, it’s John Baker at the ABC Company.” |
| Becky: The preposition “at” sounds more casual, so it’s best to use “from.” |
| John: Another point to remember is that if “Company" is part of the company's name, we would say "the ABC Company." If it's just "ABC," then we don't need the article. |
| Becky: In the second case, what would the whole sentence sound like? |
| John: “Hello, my name is John Baker from ABC.” |
| Becky: Ok, now let’s see how to ask to speak with someone else, unless you already know that the person you want to speak to is the person with whom you’re already speaking. |
| John: If you’re not sure, or you know that the person you’re speaking with isn’t the person that you need to speak with, then you should say who you want to speak to. There are many ways to do this. |
| Becky: Let’s hear a formal example and a less formal one. |
| John: To sound polite you can say, “May I speak to Alice Smith, please?” Or, a more casual sentence would be, “Is Alice Smith available?” |
| Becky: After asking to speak to someone, they might need a few moments to finish up a task or may be in a different office. In cases like this, you will be asked to wait. |
| John: Right. You may hear sentences like “Please hold while I transfer you,” or “Is it okay if I put you on hold while I check?” |
| Becky: In all of these cases, just say, “thank you,” and wait to be connected. |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| John: See you! |
Comments
Hide