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BEP 22c – Telephone English: Making Enquiries

A2, Business English, Intermediate English, Popular Lessons, Telephone English / April 24, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to make an enquiry on the telephone in English. Making an enquiry means that you want to ask a question, or questions, to get information.

Getting information over the telephone in English can be challenging! You need to be very clear about what you need, and sometimes you need to ask the other person for clarification when you can’t hear or don’t understand. If information isn’t correct, or if it’s misunderstood, there could be big trouble. So it’s important that you learn good ways of making telephone enquiries.

What do you actually do when you make an enquiry? Well, to begin, you will want to ask for information. That could simply mean telling the other person what you want to know more about. Sometimes you might also use an alternative choice question, like “is it A or is it B?” Giving limited options like that can help make things clear.

Now, what if you can’t hear the other person correctly? Well, you might have to use an expression like “sorry, what did you say?” to get the other person to repeat himself. And sometimes a word or abbreviation might not be clear and you might have to spell it out, letter by letter. All of these are ways of making sure your enquiry and the information is clear.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear George, who works for a company called Airtronics. George’s company is writing a proposal to make radios for an aircraft company called Cyclops. George is talking to Simon at Cyclops Aircraft to get some information he needs for his proposal. The telephone connection isn’t always clear, which creates some difficulty in the call.

Listening Questions

1. George asks Simon about “shipping,” or delivering the radios. What are the two choices George gives Simon about shipping?
2. At one point, George can’t hear what Simon says. How does George ask Simon to repeat himself?
3. Simon uses two words to make it clear to George that he means “XV.” What are the two words?

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BEP 21 B – Telephone English: Taking and Leaving a Message

A2, Business English, Customer Service, Telephone English / January 17, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to take or leave a message on the telephone in English.

You’ve probably experienced this situation before: someone calls your office and wants to talk to someone who isn’t there. So what do you do? You take a message, of course. But how do you take a message?

Well, it starts with asking the caller if they would actually like to leave a message. Then you’ll get some information, like who the person wants to talk to and what they want to talk about. Also, don’t forget to get the caller’s number so the person can call them back. And it’s a good idea to check back with the caller that you’ve got the information correct, because incorrect messages can cause big problems.

But what if you are the caller and you want to leave a message? Well, you can simply ask if you can do just that. And then you’ll give all the important details, like who you want to talk to, what you want to talk to them about, and your phone number. It’s these techniques and language for taking and leaving messages that we’ll learn today.

In the dialog, we’re going to rejoin a conversation between Claire and Nathan. In our last lesson, we heard Claire answer the phone at a company called Airtronics. Nathan is the caller. He works for Cyclops Aircraft and he’s calling to talk to someone named George Kline. But George isn’t there, so Claire is going to have to take a message for him.

Listening Questions

1. Why is Nathan trying to get in touch with George Kline?
2. What part of the message does Claire repeat back to Nathan?
3. Near the end of the call, what does Claire say she will try to do immediately?

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BEP 21 A – Answering a Telephone Call in English

A2, Business English, Customer Service, Telephone English / January 10, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to start a telephone call in English.

On the telephone, you can’t use your smile or body language to communicate feelings or ideas. You’ve only got your voice! So it’s really important that you know what to say and how to say it at each step of the call. This is especially true of the start of the call. Whether you’re the caller or the receiver, you need to cover the basic information right away so you can move on and deal with the matter at hand.

So, what are those basic things you need to cover at the start of a call? Well, that’s what we’ll learn about in this lesson. If you’re the receiver, you’re going to have to answer the call with a greeting and something to identify yourself and company. On a very simple level, that might sound like “Good morning. This is Jane at City Contractors.” If you’re the caller, you’re also going to have to identify yourself before you ask to speak to someone. Once you’ve identified yourself, what happens next? Well, as the receiver, next you will want to connect the caller with the right person. But before you do that, or before you take a message if the person is not available, you want to find out why the person is calling. So you’ll ask about the purpose of the call.

In today’s dialog, we will learn how the call works from both sides. We’ll hear Claire, who works at a company called Airtronics. She’s answering the call. We’ll also hear Nathan, the caller, who works for Cyclops aircraft. Nathan is calling to talk to someone named George Kline in the contracts department.

Listening Questions

1. What are the different parts of Claire’s first statement when she answers the phone?
2. How does Nathan ask to speak to George Kline?
3. How does Claire ask about the purpose of the call?

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Business English Course – BEP 69A: Answering a Phone Call in English

Business English, Functions, Telephone English / December 13, 2015

This is a free preview of a video lesson from our Business English Kickstart Course.

This Business English lesson looks at language for answering the telephone in English. Talking on the telephone in has become an extremely important part of business English. You need to be able to answer a call professionally and create a good image of yourself and your company with only your voice.

The Business English Kickstart Course covers the 3 main Business English Skills of meetings, presentations and talking on the phone with 20 lessons appropriate for intermediate English Speakers. The course is available on the Udemy platform which provides desktop and mobile access for Android and iOS devices.

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BEP 15c – Telephoning: Asking for Help

A2, Business English, Telephone English / July 26, 2015

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to ask for help on the telephone in English.

Asking someone for help with a problem is hard enough to begin with. But on the telephone it can be even more difficult! You can’t see the other person and how they are reacting, and they can’t see you. You can’t rely on a smile and friendly body language. So how can you get the help you need?

Well, don’t worry. In this lesson we’ll look at some simple steps to making an effective call. If we’re talking to someone we know, it might start with a bit of friendly small talk about things like sports or the weather. That helps makes people feel relaxed and positive, which is important if you want to talk about a problem. After you’ve created a relaxed atmosphere, you can introduce the problem. You don’t want to just blurt out “I have a problem, please help me.” You need to do it gently, or carefully. At this point, the other person may ask some questions to clarify the situation. If they’re going to help you, they’ll need a clear idea of what you need.

Next, you can suggest a solution or explain how the other person can help. Again, you don’t want to just tell the person directly what they should do. You need to be friendly and polite so that the other person actually wants to help you. And hopefully the result of all this is that you have some agreement about what will happen next and who will do what. It’s a great idea to summarize this agreement near the end of the call just so both of you are perfectly clear. So, that sounds like a pretty good way to ask for help, doesn’t it?

We’ll hear all of these steps in today’s dialog between Eric and Brenda. Brenda works for a manufacturing company that buys parts from Eric’s company. She is calling because there is an important part that hasn’t been delivered. But Brenda doesn’t just want to complain about her problem. She needs to get Eric to agree to help her.

Listening Questions

1. After introducing themselves, what do Eric and Brenda talk about first?
2. What solution does Brenda suggest for her problem?
3. What does Eric say he will do for Brenda to help solve her problem?

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Business English Course – Kickstart your Business English

May 15, 2015

Are you ready to kickstart your Business English? Do you need to use English in meetings, presentations or on the telephone? Do you want to communicate in English like a pro and get ahead in your career? Then check out our new Business English course: Business English Kickstart Course

Course Features

20 lessons on meetings, presentations & telephoning
Over 5 hours of video lessons
Downloadable PDF & MP3 for each lesson
Progress quiz for each lesson
Course completion certificate
Mobile access using the Udemy app for Android & iOS
Includes lifetime access to the course & lessons
Suitable for intermediate English learners (CEF B1-B2)

The Business English Kickstart course focuses on language and speaking techniques that you can put to use right away. You’ll improve your skills and confidence in three key areas: meetings, presentations, and telephoning.

The course builds from the basics up to the more advanced skills and language you need in real-life business situations. And it’s about more than just vocabulary. You’ll learn the phrases, structures, techniques, and special expressions that will take your English ability to the next level.

Each lesson starts off with a realistic dialog. Next, we explain what was said in the dialog step by step and uncover the language and techniques used by native speakers. At the end of every lesson you’ll have the chance to practice the language and techniques yourself. We’ve got lots of great topics, lots of different accents, and lots of real-life business situations to help keep you motivated and learning throughout the course.

What’s the end result? You’ll understand the language we use in business and why we use it.

Business English Pod has helped thousands of learners succeed since 2006. You too can benefit from our years of experience, learning to face common business situations with confidence and skill. So whether you need English for meetings, teleconferences, presentations, or phone calls, look no further.

Listen, learn and practice. Enroll now and build better English skills for work and business.

English for Telephoning Mobile App

Announcements, Mobile Learning, Telephone English / April 2, 2015

We’re pleased to announce our new mobile iOS app English for Telephoning is now live in the Apple App Store: Download

Business English Pod brings you English for Telephoning – an mobile eCourse app packed with quality business English lessons to help you get your English language skills in shape for your next phone call.

Learn English for Telephoning:

> Listen and learn business English in real business contexts.
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> Practice business English as it is used in everyday workplace situations.
> Study the transcript as you listen – easily sync to the audio using the time codes in the transcripts.
> Test your knowledge of the lesson by completing a progress quiz.
> Download and save MP3s and lessons for offline listening and learning.
> Access your business English lessons anywhere, anytime.

BEP 261 – Complaining on the Telephone 2

Business English, Customer Service, Telephone English / November 16, 2014

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on complaining and getting results over the phone.

Few people actually like to complain, but sometimes you just have to. There’s an old saying that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” which means that if you don’t complain, you won’t actually get anything resolved. So if you pay for a product or service and you’re not satisfied, it’s usually best to let the company know.

We can complain by email, but email isn’t always powerful enough. We need to use our voice to convey our ideas, emotions, and seriousness. We can complain in person, but that’s not always possible. So in many situations, we need to complain over the phone. But that’s not an easy thing to do successfully, so today we’ll look at some techniques that you can use to get results over the phone. In this lesson, we’ll cover rejecting a proposed solution, making threats, and asking for guarantees. We’ll also learn about establishing consequences and showing appreciation for a solution.

In the dialog, we will rejoin Donna and Mike. Donna works for Fuller Foods, which buys fruit from a company where Mike works as an account manager. Donna has been complaining about late deliveries and damaged produce. And Mike is trying to make her happy by looking for solutions to the problem.

Listening Questions

1. What does Donna think of Mike’s idea to talk to people in his company about the problem?
2. Why might Donna mention that she gets calls from sales reps from other companies?
3. What does Donna propose in the event that deliveries arrive late?

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BEP 260 – Complaining on the Telephone 1

Business English, Customer Service, Telephone English / November 9, 2014

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

We all know the frustration that comes with not being satisfied with a product or service? And have you had your frustration build up because the problem keeps happening? At some point, we have to stop just complaining to our friends or colleagues about it and complain directly to the company. After all, you pay good money for something, and you want to be happy with it.

So you call the company up and you try to deal with the problem over the phone. It’s not an easy task, but there are some techniques that you can learn to make your complaints more effective. In today’s lesson, we’ll look at politely explaining a problem, rejecting bad excuses, and talking about the impact of the problem. We’ll also learn how to reference previous discussions about the problem and how to ask for a solution.

In the dialog, we will hear Donna, who works for a food products company called Fuller Foods. She’s calling Mike, an account manager with a company that distributes fruit. Donna is unhappy with the service she’s been getting and wants to complain about it.

Listening Questions

1. What excuse for the problem does Mike give at first?
2. What is the impact of the problem that Donna is complaining about?
3. What important question does Donna ask Mike at the end of the dialog?

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