BEP 199 – Telephone English: Controlling the Call (2)
In this Business English lesson, we’ll continue our look at language and techniques for controlling a telephone call in English.
If you’re like most people, talking on the telephone is a basic part of work life. We talk with colleagues, customers, potential clients, suppliers, company reps – the list goes on and on. In fact, the telephone has become even more important as we spend less time at our desks and more time dealing with people remotely.
As you surely know, talking on the telephone is not always easy. We can’t use the same techniques that we might use when talking to someone face-to-face. We need to learn a new set of skills. It is these skills that we are looking at in this series about controlling the call. If you learn to do this well, you’ll end each conversation with a sense of achievement and purpose.
In today’s lesson, we’ll hear a conversation between Chris and Nick. Chris is calling Nick to inform him about some price changes and to arrange a meeting. As you will hear, the caller carefully controls the conversation and gets the outcome she wants.
Listening Questions
1. What reason does Chris give for the change in prices?
2. When will the price changes take effect?
3. Why does Chris want to meet with Nick?
Download: Podcast MP3
