Telephone English

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on making an appointment over the telephone.

Despite the many options for communication, the telephone is still the fastest and easiest way to do get some things done. This is true in business as much as it is in personal life. There are many reasons to skip the back and forth of email or texting and just call someone.

One good reason is to make an appointment. It could be a business meeting, a conversation with your lawyer, a visit to a client, or a doctor’s appointment. In this case, the real business needs to happen in person. But that in-person appointment needs to be arranged and agreed on.

When we make an appointment over the phone, we often say our reason for calling before asking for a meeting. And it’s a good idea to give a clear reason for that meeting or appointment. You’ll also have to discuss existing plans and suggest times for the meeting.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Gordon Knight calling to make an appointment with Penny Yip. Gordon works for a pension fund, while Penny works for an investment company. Gordon met Penny at a recent conference and now wants to follow up and meet her when he is in Malaysia.

Listening Questions

1. What does Gordon tell the assistant about his reason for calling?
2. What does Gordon tell Penny about his reason for meeting?
3. What time does Penny suggest they meet?

Download: Podcast MP3

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on doing business by phone. Last time we looked at a routine check-in call with your boss. Today we’ll focus on spontaneous, or unexpected, phone conversations.

You might start a telephone conversation with an idea about how it will go and what you will talk about. And many routine conversations are pretty straightforward. But what happens when the conversation gets into things you haven’t anticipated? What if the other person asks you tough questions that you don’t have easy answers for? In particular, what if your boss is pressuring you to justify your decisions?

There are a few things that you might have to do to succeed in this situation. For starters, you might need to just pause and gather your thoughts. Next, you might find yourself explaining your assumptions and clarifying some of the specific aspects of your decision. You might also try explaining what would have happened it you hadn’t made the decision you did. And finally, it’s a good idea to be able to accept feedback graciously and politely.

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Sonny, a English for logistics manager in Asia working for an American clothing company. Sonny is talking with his supervisor Cam. If you listened to our last lesson about a routine check-in, you’ll notice a big difference with this conversation. This time, Sonny has to think on his feet and deal with some tough questions.

Listening Questions

1. What assumption does Sonny make about delivery times?
2. What does Sonny say might have happened if he didn’t make a tough decision?
3. What will Sonny do differently in the future based on the feedback he gets?

Download: Podcast MP3

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on doing business by phone. This is the first of a pair of lessons on routine and spontaneous business phone conversations.

Now what do I mean when I say “routine” and “spontaneous” phone conversations? Routine means something we do often or something that follows a set pattern. But spontaneous means suddenly, without any planning. Having a spontaneous conversation in English is very challenging. Today we’ll start with a more routine weekly check-in, and our next lesson will show you how to handle more unexpected situations.

A weekly check-in is a chance to talk with your supervisor about how your work is going. That might include reporting your progress or the status of different projects or work. It might also mean sharing your successes and asking for help or guidance with challenges. And if you’re like most people, there’s always lots to talk about, so you may also have to request time to look at a specific issue.

In today’s dialog, we’ll join Sonny, a logistics manager for a clothing company called Boston Vintage. Sonny works in Asia and is talking on the phone with his supervisor Cam, who works in the U.S. Their conversation is a weekly check-in about recent work, challenges, and progress.

Listening Questions

1. What topic does Sonny request time to discuss during the call?
2. What does Sonny report that he is making some progress on?
3. What success is Sonny happy to report?

Download: Podcast MP3