Learn how to tell a receptionist you’ve arrived for an appointment
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Arriving to an Appointment and Notifying the Receptionist. Becky here. |
| John: Hi, I'm John. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to tell a receptionist you’ve arrived for an appointment. The following conversation takes place at the reception counter. |
| John: It's between a receptionist and Linda. |
| Becky: The speakers are strangers; therefore, they will speak informal English. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Receptionist: Good evening. |
| Linda: Good evening, I'm Linda Baker from Green &Blue. I have an appointment with Mr. Handerson at five o'clock. |
| Linda: We spoke over the phone earlier. |
| Receptionist: Yes, let me check. Please take a seat in the hall. |
| : (few minutes later) |
| Receptionist: Mr. Handerson will be with you in a few minutes. Would you like something to drink? |
| Linda: No, thank you. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Receptionist: Good evening. |
| Linda: Good evening, I'm Linda Baker from Green &Blue. I have an appointment with Mr. Handerson at five o'clock. |
| Linda: We spoke over the phone earlier. |
| Receptionist: Yes, let me check. Please take a seat in the hall. |
| : (few minutes later) |
| Receptionist: Mr. Handerson will be with you in a few minutes. Would you like something to drink? |
| Linda: No, thank you. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Linda seems to be having a lot of business meetings lately. |
| John: Yes, she’s very busy! I hope that means her company is doing well. |
| Becky: I hope so too. This time she had to speak to a receptionist to say she had arrived and was ready for her meeting. |
| John: Yeah, it’s quite common for big companies to have receptionists. |
| Becky: Receptionists have an important role in companies, as they are often the first employee that visitors have contact with. |
| John: Right. That’s why it’s important that receptionists are well presented, professional, and polite, because they are the first people to greet and deal with clients when they arrive. |
| Becky: What are a receptionist’s main duties? |
| John: Receptionists answer phone calls and arrange meetings. They need to have good organization and people skills and are often asked to do various administrative tasks. |
| Becky: The personal assistant, also known as a "PA," has a similar role. |
| John: Right, but PAs concentrate only on one senior member of staff. |
| 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: to check [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To confirm, to look at. |
| John: to check [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to check [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: To take. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: To have, to obtain. |
| John: To take. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: To take. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Seat. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: A chair, a place to sit. |
| John: Seat. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Seat. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Hall. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: A corridor or passageway in a building. |
| John: Hall. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Hall. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| John: Few. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Not many. |
| John: Few. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Few. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And lastly... |
| John: Something. [natural native speed] |
| Becky: An unknown or unidentified thing. |
| John: Something. [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: Something. [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: Appointment. |
| Becky: This is a noun that means a scheduled meeting with someone. |
| John: We don't use the word "appointment" for casual meetings. For example, we wouldn't say we have an "appointment" with our friends. |
| Becky: It is used for meetings as well as visits to the doctor's office and things like that. Can you give us an example using this word? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say, “He overslept and missed his appointment.” |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| John: Take a seat. |
| Becky: The first word is "take," which means "to obtain." "Seat" means a chair, or something else you can sit on. |
| John: Although "take" usually means to get or obtain something, in this case it means only temporarily. |
| Becky: In other words, "take a seat" means the same as "sit down." |
| John: But we don’t literally mean “take” a chair. If someone said, "take a chair," it would mean pick up a chair and take it somewhere, not to sit down. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say, “Please take a seat while you’re waiting.” |
| Becky: Which is like saying, “Please sit down while you’re waiting.” |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn how to tell a receptionist that you’ve arrived for an appointment. There will be times where you have to visit another company or go to places like a doctor or dentist’s office. |
| John: Usually, you need to make an appointment in advance to do this, so make sure to arrive at least five to ten minutes early for your appointment. |
| Becky: When you arrive, you will probably be greeted by a receptionist and should tell the receptionist that you have an appointment. |
| John: There are two things to remember. The first is that when you talk about time, you use the preposition “at.” For example, “at three o’clock” or “at ten a.m.” |
| Becky: The second is that when you talk about people, you use the preposition “with.” For example, “with Mr. Baker,” “with Ms. Smith.” So, what can we say to the receptionist? |
| John: You can say, “I have an appointment,” and then follow with the time and the person you are meeting with. It doesn’t matter if you say the time or person first. |
| Becky: You should also start the sentence by saying, “Excuse me.” Can you give us a couple of examples? |
| John: For example, you can say, “Excuse me, I have an appointment at ten a.m. with Mr. Baker,” or “Excuse me, I have an appointment at three o’clock with Ms. Smith.” |
| Becky: Let’s see what to say in the case that we are in the position of the person who receives the visitor. |
| John: You should start by welcoming them to the building and asking if they need help. For example, you could say, “Welcome to the ABC Company, how may I help you?” or “Welcome to the ABC Company, how may I be of assistance?” |
| Becky: After they introduce themselves, how can we ask them to wait while we double-check their data? |
| John: You can say, “Let me check the details, I won’t be a moment.” |
| Becky: If they have to wait, what can we say? |
| John: First make sure to offer any refreshments if available. You could say, “Can I offer you anything to drink?” or “Do you want a coffee?” Then you could say, “Mr. Baker will see you shortly,” or “Mr. Baker will be with you soon.” |
| Becky: And, of course, we should make sure that they are comfortable. |
| John: Right. You could say, “Please take a seat,” or “Please sit down.” |
| Becky: Let’s repeat the whole set of phrases together. |
| John: “Mr. Baker will be with you in a moment, so please take a seat. Can I offer you anything to drink?” |
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! |
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