Learn how to leave a message
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Leaving a Message for a Colleague. Becky here. |
| John: Hi, I'm John. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to leave a message. The conversation takes place at an office. |
| 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: I'm sorry, Mrs. Smith is not coming to the office today. |
| Linda: I see. Can I leave a message with you? |
| Receptionist: Yes, go ahead. |
| Linda: Please tell her that the consultant has sent the results and that she should get in contact with him. |
| Receptionist: The consultant has sent the results? Okay, I'll get in contact with Mrs. Smith and tell her. |
| Linda: Thank you. I'll check in again tomorrow. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one more time, slowly. |
| Receptionist: I'm sorry, Mrs. Smith is not coming to the office today. |
| Linda: I see. Can I leave a message with you? |
| Receptionist: Yes, go ahead. |
| Linda: Please tell her that the consultant has sent the results and that she should get in contact with him. |
| Receptionist: The consultant has sent the results? Okay, I'll get in contact with Mrs. Smith and tell her. |
| Linda: Thank you. I'll check in again tomorrow. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Linda didn’t have any luck with contacting Mrs. Smith directly. |
| John: That happens a lot in business, especially if you don’t have an appointment. |
| Becky: Right. Odds are that, at some point, you will have to leave a message. |
| John: Yeah, if they aren’t there then you either have to leave a message or call back. |
| Becky: What kinds of things should we say if we’re leaving a message? |
| John: They should be short, and you should definitely say your name and the company you work for. |
| Becky: Yes! The person needs to know who is calling so they can call you back! |
| John: You can also leave a short summary of why you are calling. |
| Becky: If you’re calling because of something urgent, you should say that. Then you’ll get a call back more quickly. |
| John: But, you might not get a call back immediately, especially if it’s the end of the day. |
| Becky: They might not have time to call you back until the next day. |
| John: Or, if you call during lunch, you might not get a call back until later. |
| Becky: Lunch is very important! 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 come [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to move or go towards a place near the speaker |
| John: to come [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to come [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, we have... |
| John: to leave [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to go away from a place |
| John: to leave [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to leave [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next up is... |
| John: message [natural native speed] |
| Becky: a verbal or written communication usually left for somebody who isn't present |
| John: message [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: message [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, there’s... |
| John: consultant [natural native speed] |
| Becky: one who gives professional advice |
| John: consultant [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: consultant [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Then, we have... |
| John: result [natural native speed] |
| Becky: the outcome of something |
| John: result [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: result [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next, we have... |
| John: contact [natural native speed] |
| Becky: communication, connection |
| John: contact [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: contact [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And lastly... |
| John: to contact [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to communicate with someone |
| John: to contact [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| John: to contact [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: message |
| Becky: ...meaning "a verbal or written communication, usually left for someone who isn’t present." |
| Becky: This is a noun. |
| John: It covers all types of communication for someone who isn’t present. |
| Becky: So it includes verbal communication, like messages left on answering machines or with other people. |
| John: And also written communication, such as notes and texts. |
| Becky: It can also be used as a verb to describe the action of leaving a message. |
| John: Yes, you can say something like “I messaged him.” |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say “Can you pass this message on for me, please?” |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next word? |
| John: results |
| Becky: ...meaning "the outcome of something." |
| Becky: This is a noun. |
| John: It means information obtained through a scientific method. |
| Becky: It can be used for medical exams, school tests... |
| John: ...surveys, campaigns... |
| Becky: There are many circumstances where it is used. |
| John: You often hear it in the business world, too. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| John: Sure. For example, you can say “If you work hard, you'll see good results.” |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn about how to leave a message. If you have to leave a message, you will either leave it with a machine, or with a person. |
| John: If you’re talking to a person, first you have to make sure that they can take a message. |
| Becky: Often they will offer, but if they don’t, you should ask. |
| John: You can say something like “Can I leave a message with you?” |
| Becky: If you’re talking to a machine, you have to remember that you only have a limited time to speak. |
| John: You need to be quick and to the point, and don’t leave any sensitive information, in case someone else hears it. |
| Becky: The information you should leave is your name, company, reason for calling, and how you can be reached. |
| John: You can keep your reason for calling very brief and general. |
| Becky: Yeah, don’t go into detail. You can just leave a general statement like... |
| John: “I’m calling to follow up on what we talked about yesterday.” |
| Becky: Or “I’m checking on the new deal.” It’s okay to not be as formal in phone messages, as people know that time is limited. What can we say if we want someone to call us back? |
| John: You should say when you are, or aren’t available. “If you can give me a call back, I’m free after three p.m.” |
| Becky: Or “If you can, can you call me back tomorrow morning?” If you don’t need them to call you back, you can say... |
| John: “I’ll call you again later” or “I’ll try you again this afternoon.” |
| Becky: You can say what you are going to do using the pattern “I will” and then your action. |
| John: Sometimes, you might be the person answering the phone and taking the message. |
| Becky: Although you don’t have the same time constraints as an answering machine, it’s still best to get the information quickly. You should ask if the caller wants you to take a message. |
| John: “Shall I take a message?” or “Do you want to leave a message?” |
| Becky: If they say “yes,” grab a pen and paper. You can just make notes, and it’s fine to ask for them to repeat the information. |
| John: Yes, we learned some phrases in lesson 2 to help with repeating information. |
| Becky: There is one thing that we didn’t cover in Lesson 2, and that is what to do if the company name is a little unusual. |
| John: This can happen with people’s names, too. If you don’t know how to spell something, that’s fine. |
| Becky: Just ask! You can ask directly |
| John: “How do you spell that?” or “Can you spell that for me?” |
| Becky: Or, if you think you know the spelling but aren’t 100% sure, you can say “Let me just check the spelling of that.” |
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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