Exercise 5. Leaving a Message There are a number of phrases and idioms that are only used when telephoning. Complete the following dialogue, using telephone vocabulary.

Operator: Hello, Brown and Brown, _______ can I help you?

Paul: _______ is Paul Jackson. Can I have _______ 1234?

Operator: Certainly, _______ on a minute, I'll put you _______...

Frank: Bob Brown's office, Frank _______.

Paul: This is Paul Jackson _______, is Bob in?

Frank: I'm _______ he's in a meeting at the moment. Can I take a _______?

Paul: Yes, Could you ask him to _______ me at 2564 439 883 . I need to talk to him about the new order.

Frank: _______ you repeat the number please?

Paul: Yes, that's 2564 439 883, and this is Paul Jackson.

Frank: Thank you Mr. Jackson, I'll make sure Bob _______ the message as soon as possible.

Paul: Thank you for your _______.

Frank: Thank you for your _______. Have a _______ day.

Exercise 6. Making an Appointment

Choose the best variant.

Receptionist: Thank you for phoning Maple Dental Clinic. Sylvia (answers; speaks; speaking). How can I help you?

Thelma: Hi Sylvia. (This be; It’s; I am) Thelma Woods calling. How are you today?

Receptionist: I'm fine Mrs. Woods. How are you?

Thelma: Well, actually, I have a bit of a sore tooth. I was hoping Dr. Morris would have some time to (meet; see; come across) me this week.

Receptionist: I'm afraid he's (occupied; engaged; booked) this week. I can put you in for 2pm next Tuesday. Does that (suit; satisfy; fit) you?

Thelma: That would be great.

Receptionist: I'll have to give you the address of our new office.

Thelma: Oh, that's right, you moved.

Receptionist: Yes, we moved downtown. Do you have a (pen handy; handy pen; the available pen)?

Thelma: Could you hold on a (time; minute; moment) please. ...Okay, go ahead Sylvia.

Receptionist: Okay, we are at 723 Baltic Avenue. Suite 004.

Thelma: (If you could; Please can you; Would you mind) spelling that for me?

Receptionist: Sure. That's seven-twenty-three Baltic—B as in Bravo, A as in Alpha, L as in Lima, T as in tango, I as in India, and C as in Charlie. And it's suite zero zero four.

Thelma: Thank you for your help.

Receptionist: Thank you for (talking; speaking; calling). Have a nice day!

Exercise 7. Put the words in the correct order.

1. I you? can Hello, speaking. Susan Smith How help

2. please. I'd like rental, information about some car

3. from Oxford about next calling I'm week. the conference

4. again, could say that I'm sorry, please? you

5. Thank help. your for you much very

6. welcome. calling. for Thank you You're

Exercise 8. Match the phrases (1-10) with the replies (a-j).

1. Who’s calling please?

2. Can I speak to Mr. Barker please?

3. Shall I ask him to call you back?

4. Will he be available this afternoon?

5. Can you spell that for me please?

6. Hi, this is Alex. Sorry to phone you so late. Can you speak now?

7. Shall I give you his mobile number?

8. Can you tell him I called?

9. Are you phoning from the office?

10. Is that 080 742 3344?

a. Of course. I’ll pass that message to him as soon as he gets back to the office.

b. No, that’s okay. I’ll phone again later.

c. I’m on a train. Can I call you back in 10 minutes when I get off?

d. No, I’m on my mobile.

e. No, I’m sorry. He won’t be in the office until tomorrow.

f. This is Alex Case from KPMG.

g. No, you’ve dialled the wrong number. This is 080 742 3334.

h. I’ll just check if he’s available.

i. Of course. It’s A – L – E – X – C – A – S – E.

j. Yes, please. Can you wait a minute? I’ll just get a pen and paper.

Exercise 9. Closing the Call

As the caller, it is your job to close the call when you have got the information you need. Unless the receiver shows that he wants to talk, it is not polite to chat once your business is finished. If there is a difficult silence at the end of the call, it is probably because you are not doing your job of closing the call. You can do this by

• confirming the arrangement: So, I'll come to your office on Monday at 10....

• thanking the receiver: Thank you very much for your help....

• and saying goodbye: Goodbye....

In each case, wait for the receiver's response before you go on to the next stage. Wait until you have heard the receiver say goodbye before you hang up.

Exercise 10. Reading

a) Read this text about telephone conferences and discuss the questions below with a partner.

A telephone conference is a meeting between a number of people which is conducted on the telephone. The participants can be anywhere in the world, but it is important to try to choose a time which is suitable for all of them. There are many advantages to telephone conferences – they can be very immediate and efficient, and they can obviously save a good deal of time and expense. There are also disadvantages, however. It can be difficult to have an organised meeting when you can’t see people’s faces, and some people find the idea of speaking on the phone to more than one person at a time very strange indeed.

1. Why do companies hold telephone conferences?

2. What are some of the problems?

3. Would you like to take part in a telephone conference?

b) Read the information from a telephone book. It shows time differences in different countries. (GMT = Greenwich Meridian Time.)

Brazil GMT – 3 hours	Japan GMT + 9 hours	Ukraine GMT + 2 hours
China GMT + 8 hours	Mexico GMT – 6 hours	South Korea GMT + 9 hours
France GMT + 1 hours	Russia (West) GMT + 3 hours	USA (East) GMT – 5 hours

It is midday in London (GMT), what time is it in the following places?

New York _____

Tokyo _____

Moscow _____

Sao Paulo _____

Seoul _____

Paris _____