Unit

01  Using good telephone etiquette

A. Be polite

Basic business Use the phone professionally: be polite, respect other people's time,
and use voice mail wisely. Just because you're not face to face
telephone doesn't mean you don't have to show basic courtesies.

etiquette ❶ Treat everyone equally. Treat the initial operators or

receptionists with the same respect you show their bosses.
❷ Focus on the caller. Eating or chewing gum while talking,
carrying on other conversations, or obviously working on other
tasks while talking on the phone all show disrespect for the
Key words and phrases
person on the line.
a bad time
❸ Be helpful. When answering the phone, ask how you can help
a good time
the caller.
check in on ❹ Don't demand special treatment. Sometimes we all have to
free wait on hold!
interrupt
on hold B. Respect other people's time
voice mail
voice mail messages ❶ Don't leave people on hold. Even if you can't help a caller right
away, check in on him or her periodically—every 30 seconds,
preferably—to let the caller know that you are still aware of his or
her presence and that you will help as soon as you can.
❷ Identify yourself. When taking a call, identify yourself and your
company; when answering someone else's phone, inform the
person of whose phone you have answered. When making a call,
give your name, organization, and purpose of call as clearly as
possible. If you speak to a receptionist and tell him or her the
purpose of your call, don't assume your message will be passed
on when you are put through, repeat your name and purpose of
the call to the next person you talk to.
❸ Make sure the person you've called has time for you. Ask if
the person you've called has time to speak to you, whether you
are calling unexpectedly or following a prearranged plan. If the
person doesn't have time to talk, try to set up a time in the future
before getting off the phone. Conclude business phone calls by
thanking the person you are speaking to for his or her time.
❹ Keep your calls to business hours. Unless you've specifically
arranged it, try not to call before nine am or after six pm.

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 Talking on the telephone
Part 1
C. Use voice mail wisely

❶ Leave detailed messages so people can take action. Your voice mail message should
allow the listener to take appropriate action. At the bare minimum, leave your name,
company, phone number, time of call, and purpose of call.
❷ Respond promptly to messages and voice mail.

Sample Sentences
CD1-1
Identifying 1 Hi, this is Kelly Blair with Blair Associates. I'm calling for Wanda Kirwin. 1
yourself on 2 Hi, this is Kelly Blair. I have a one o'clock phone interview with Wanda

Basic business telephone etiquette

the phone Kirwin.
3 Good morning. This is Kelly Blair of Blair Associates, and I'm trying to
reach Wanda Kirwin.

Asking 4 Sorry to call unannounced—have you got a second to brief me on the

about time project?
5 Am I interrupting anything?
6 Have you got a minute?
7 Is this a good time/Is this a bad time?
8 Do you have time for a quick chat about the report?
CD1-2
Arranging 9 Let's try to talk this afternoon instead.
follow-up 10 Let me finish this up, and I'll ring you back in 20 minutes—will that work
phone calls for you?
11 I'll be free at four o'clock—could you call me back then?
12 I'm really swamped this morning, but I can give you the information first
thing tomorrow.

Leaving 13 Hi, this is Laurel Herman of Gingerbread Houses, and it's two fifteen on
voice mail Tuesday. I'm calling to ask you a few questions about the catering event
messages next week. Please call me back at (718) 234-3039. Thanks.
14 Hello, this is Wanda Kirwin of Kirwin Events. I'm returning your call. It's
three on Monday, and I'll be in the office until at least six, so please try
me back at (202) 293-9894. Thanks.
15 Hi, this is Harold at Gingerbread Houses. I'm calling to let you know that
the changes you requested for Tuesday's event have all be confirmed
and carried out. If you have any questions, please call me back at (301)
887-4403; otherwise, I'll see you on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks.

9
 EXERCISES
Pair work:Take turns enacting the following situations.

Example

Student One
"Good afterno
on, Jethro Tulle
Design.
speaking.
How may I
Student Two ?"
"Hello. I'd like
Student One to ."
"I'm sorr y,
. May
I ?"

SITUATIO
NA NB
SITUATIO
Student O
dal
g from Bri
ne You are a
busy secre a re c a ll in
tar y at ne You rough
Jethro Tull
e Design. Student O . Yo u are put th
Mark Sty le s
u
Sanchez, y anchez. Yo
our boss,
is away to Mark S about
from his d
esk but w a n t to ta lk quickly
ill be w r the
back short
ly. Hold h e d re s s designs fo
is calls. th ow.
fashion sh
Student T
wo Yo upcoming
u are c alling from
Styles. You Bridal chez. You
want to sp Yo u a re Mark San
eak wo on't
with Mark Student T usy and d
Sanchez a
bout a are ver y b dule
dress des
ign. ti m e to talk . Sche
have ss
re n t ti m e to discu
a dif fe
n show.
the fashio

Usage: Choose the most polite/proper option.

　　　 Answering a ringing phone:

 Good morning, Zelig Industries.
 Good morning, this is Jolene, secretary, may I help you?
 Good morning, Zelig Industries, Jolene speaking. May I help you?
　　　 Identifying yourself:
 I'm calling for Yougin Kim from Helping Hands.
 This is Andy from Helping Hands, thanks.
 This is Andy from Helping Hands. Is Yougin Kim available?

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 Talking on the telephone
Part 1
　　　 Postponing a phone conversation:
 This isn't a good time for me, but can I call you back at three to talk?
 I'm sorry, I'm really busy and I can't talk right now.
 I'm so swamped. Let's talk later, OK?
　　　 Answering the phone in someone else's office:
 Good morning, Wanda Kirwin's office. This is Sandy speaking. How may I help
you?
 Good morning, this is Sandy. May I help you? You've reached Wanda Kirwin's
office.
 This is Sandy, may I help you?
　　　 Leaving a voice mail:
 Hi Wanda. Please call me back as soon as possible. I want to talk about the 1
performance bonuses.

Basic business telephone etiquette

 Hi Wanda, it's Ben. It's ten am on Friday, and I'd like to talk about the bonuses
before the day's out. Please give me a call back on my direct line.
 Good morning Wanda! How are you? I think we need to talk. Please give me a call
back on my home phone.

　　　 Making an unexpected call:

 Hi, Bob here. I'm sorry to trouble you. This will only take a minute.
 Hi George. I really need to talk to you about the sales figures.
 Hi George, it's Bob. Have you got a minute to talk about the sales figures?

Listening: Listen to the conversations and answer the questions

below.
CD1-3 Part 1
　　　 The man ______________
 asks if it's a good time.
 leaves a message.
 takes a call.
CD1-4 Part 2
　　　 The man should have ______________
 said his phone number.
 said his name and organization.
 said his name and phone number.
CD1-5 Part 3
　　　 The woman should have ______________
 left her phone number and her name.
 left her phone number, purpose of call, and a message.
 left her phone number, purpose of call, and time of call.

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 Unit

02 Dialog  Answering the telephone

CD1-6
1 Joan answers the phone.

Taking calls Joan Good morning, you've reached the offices of Johnson and
Pelt. This is Joan speaking. How may I help you?
and making
Caller A Good morning. I'd like to talk to someone about patenting
calls a process I've developed.
Joan You'll want to speak to Laura in our patents department.
Please hold for a moment while I transfer you there.

Key words and phrases

busy signal
2 Joan transfers the call and takes another call.
off the hook
(do not put the part of Joan Good morning, Johnson and Pelt. This is Joan speaking,
it that you talk with back may I help you?
correctly and it will not
ring) Caller B Hello . . . I was trying to reach Pelt plumbing.
on another line Joan I'm afraid you've got the wrong number.
please hold Caller B Oh, I'm sorry. Thanks.
transfer
wrong number

3 Joan hangs up and answers another call.

Joan Good morning, Johnson and Pelt. This is Joan speaking.
How may I help you?
Caller C Good morning. I'm calling for Jack Pelt.
Joan May I ask who's calling?
Caller C This is Sam Johnson.
Joan And can I tell Mr. Pelt what this is regarding?
Caller C I'm an old friend of his—he'll know me.

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12
 Talking on the telephone
Part 1
2
Sample Sentences

Taking calls and making calls

CD1-7
Taking calls 1 Good afternoon, Helix Industries.
2 Helix Industries, may I help you?
3 Good morning, Helix Industries. This is Clara speaking, may I help
you?
4 Good afternoon, Jim Usherton's office, Clara speaking.

Requesting 5 May I tell her who's calling?

information 6 Who's calling, please?
from callers 7 Who shall I say is calling?
8 May I ask what this is regarding?
CD1-8
Making calls 9 May I speak to Jim Usherton, please?
10 This is Howard James of Double Helix Technologies calling for Jim
Usherton.
11 Hi, I'm trying to reach Jim Usherton.
12 I'd like to speak to someone in your human resources department,
please.

Transferring 13 Please hold and I'll transfer you to Mr. Usherton's office.
calls 14 Hold one moment while I transfer you.
15 I'll put you through to human resources now.
16 I'm sorry, Mr. Usherton is on another line. Is there anyone else
who can help you?
17 I'm getting a busy signal at Mr. Usherton's office. Can I transfer
you to someone else?

13
 display screen
handset

redial key

dial pad
hold key

star key/
button
pound key/
volume keys button

EXERCISES
Pair work

Take turns enacting the following situations. Student One will be the secretary for the first call,
student two will be the secretary for the second call, and so on.

Example
Student One
"Good mornin
g, JR Industrial
Design. How Caller 1 You are a constructing contractor
Student Two m ay I
" ?" working on a JR Industrial Design
, this is
I'm a .
on the project called the Beam Project.
Project . . . " You need to speak to someone
about a problem with materials at a
construction site.
You are the secretary for JR
Industrial Design. Questions Caller 2 You are a designer on an architecture
about design should go to project for JR Industrial Design. The
John Jordan in the design project is called the Mars Project. You
department. Questions about want to speak to John Jordan about
construction should go some questions you have about the
to Yusef Saleem in the overall design.
construction department.
Transfer calls
appropriately.

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 Talking on the telephone
Part 1
Vocabulary: Choose the correct word, phrase, or response for each
question.

　　　 "Good morning, Hi Tech Inc." "　　　　"

 Good morning, Judy speaking.
 Hi, I'd like to speak to Bob Ickles please.
 Hi, this is Andrew. May I help you?
　　　 "I want to reach Gregg, but I keep getting a 　　　　 ."
 transfer  busy signal  line
　　　 "Good afternoon, Hi Tech Inc."
"Hi, I'm calling from Gould's Paints about the paint samples you ordered."
"I'm sorry. I don't think we've requested any paint samples. I'm afraid you've got the 2

Taking calls and making calls

　　　　."
 wrong line  wrong transfer  wrong number
　　　 "I'm trying to reach Bob Ickles, but I've been 　　　　 for ages. I think the receptionist
has forgotten about me!"
 on hold  on line  to hold
　　　 "Hi there. I've been trying to get through to Clara Coombes, but I keep getting a busy
signal. Could you check to see whether her phone is 　　　　."
 on another line  off the hook  on busy
　　　 "I'd like to speak to Gloria, please." "Who 　　　　 I say is calling?"
 do  will  shall

Listening: Listen to the conversations and answer the questions

below.
CD1-9
　　　 The woman
 makes a call.  transfers a call.  holds a call.
　　　 This is an example of
 a wrong number.  a busy signal.  holding.
　　　 The man is
 ordering a call.  making a call.  taking a call.
　　　 The woman will check the office to see
 if Karen Newton is on hold.
 if the man's phone is off the hook.
 if Karen Newton's phone is off the hook.
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 Unit

03 Dialog  Taking a message

CD1-10
1 Joan answers the phone.

Taking Joan Good afternoon, Johnson and Pelt. May I help you?

messages and Caller Hi, I'd like to speak to Ed Johnson, please.

transferring Joan Mr. Johnson is away from his desk at the moment. May I
take a message, or would you like his voice mail?
information Caller Let me give you a message, please. This is Wei-Li from
Global Solutions. I wanted to touch base with him about
our presentation next week.
Key words and phrases
Joan OK . . . can I ask you to spell your name, please?
ASAP: as soon as possible
away from one's desk Caller Of course. It's W-E-I, L, as in lion, I.
confirm Joan Thank you. And your number, please?
direct line Caller I'm sure he has it, but I'll give it to you again. It's (202) 449-
out of the office 9930. Please ask him to call me back ASAP.
pass along/pass on
Joan Certainly. To confirm, this is Wei-Li of Global Solutions,
put through
you're at (202) 449-9930, and you want to talk about the
touch base with somebody presentation, correct?
urgent
Caller That's it, thanks.
Joan I'll pass along the message as soon as Mr. Johnson returns.

2 Joan takes another call.

Joan Good afternoon, Johnson and Pelt. This is Joan speaking,
may I help you?
Caller two Hi, I'm calling for Errol Pelt.
Joan Mr. Pelt is away this afternoon in meetings. Would you
like to leave a message, or would you like me to put you
through to his voice mail?
Caller two Voice mail is fine, thanks.

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 Talking on the telephone
Part 1
Sample Sentences

CD1-11
Taking a 1 Would you like to leave a message?
message 2 I can take a message for him, if you like.
3 Can I take a message for her?
4 Would you like me to pass a message on to her?

Taking 5 Could I have your name, please?

information 6 And you're with . . . ?
7 Can you tell me what this is regarding?
8 Will Mr. Johnson know what this is regarding?
3
9 Is this an urgent matter?

Taking messages and transferring information

10 Is that your direct line?
11 When is a good time to reach you?

Transferring to 12 Would you prefer her voice mail?

voice mail 13 Would you care to leave a message on his voice mail?
14 Mr. Pelt's out of the office. I'll put you through to his voice mail.
15 Mr. Pelt's requested that his calls be put through to his voice mail.

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