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how to speak on the phone

## A basic English phone call, from hello to goodbye This page walks through a simple phone call in English, one stage at a time. You will see how to answer and open the call, ask for the person you want, give a reason for calling, take a message if that person is not available, and close politely. Quick try: Imagine you call a company and ask for Ms Lee, but she is out. Which sentence do you say? - good_result: Could I speak to Ms Lee, please? This is a polite, natural way to ask for someone on the phone. - wrong_result: I want Ms Lee. Without Could I speak to, this sounds blunt on the phone. A softer request works better. When you finish the walkthrough, practise one full call out loud, from the greeting to the goodbye, using a realistic example such as calling to make an appointment.

A closer look

First action: pick up and greet with Hello, this is Sam speaking. For a personal call, Hi, it's Sam also works. Then follow the steps below for asking, stating your purpose, and closing.

First action: pick up and greet with Hello, this is Sam speaking. For a personal call, Hi, it's Sam also works. Then follow the steps below for asking, stating your purpose, and closing.

  1. Answer the call and identify yourself. A formal opener is Hello, this is Sam speaking. For a personal call, informal works: Hi, it's Sam.

  2. Ask for the person you need. Formal options: Is Mr Lee available? or May I speak to Mr Lee? Informal: Is Sam free? or Can I talk to Sam? If the answerer is the person you want, you may hear Speaking! in reply. On the answerer side, you might say I'm afraid he's not available right now, Can I take a message? or I'll let him know you called.

  3. State your purpose and make the request. Hello. This is Carl with Company X. Could you connect me with someone in the training department? Adapt the pattern to your own name and reason.

  4. Spell difficult names letter by letter. Sounds like B, P, T and D are easily confused on a call, so pair each letter with a word: B as in Bravo, P as in Papa, T as in Tango, D as in Delta, S as in Sierra. Every letter from Alfa to Zulu has a standard code word.

  5. Handle numbers slowly. Speak them at an easy pace and repeat them back as a check. Ask, Let me confirm, that's 5-5-2? before moving on.

Read the call below in two roles, caller and answerer, to see the phrases in use.

Caller: Hi, it's Sam. Is Lee free? Answerer: Speaking! Here the answerer is Lee himself, so the person Sam asked for is the one who picks up and says Speaking!

Caller: Great. I'm calling about the lunch plan. Could we move it to Thursday? This names the reason and makes one clear request.

Answerer: Sure, Thursday works. Let me confirm the time, that's one o'clock? Repeating the time back catches mistakes before you both hang up.

Caller: Yes, one o'clock. Thanks, see you then. Answerer: Great, bye!

Completion check: - Can you name each stage of the call: greeting, asking for someone, stating the reason, confirming, closing? - Did you confirm names and numbers by repeating them? - Could you answer or take a message if the person asked for is not there?

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