II. These are some common and useful telephone questions. Match the endings with the question starters. (more then one combination is sometimes possible.)

1) ____leave a message?

2) ____take a message?

3) ____transfer me to his voice mail?

4) ____have your phone number?

5) ____know what this regarding?

6) ____help you?

7) ____ask what this is regarding.

8) ____speak to Mr.Tipps, please?

9) ____555-7434?

10) ___ask who is calling?

11) ___ repeat that, please?

12) ___ask him to call Mr. Donson?

13) ___a good time?

14) ___ask when he will be back?

15) ___call back later?

16) ___something I could help you with?

a. Would you like to____?

b. May I____?

c. Could you_____?

d. Does she/he____?

e. Is this____?

III. Complete the text with words from the box.

call dialed directory extension line message mobile operator voicemail

I didn’t have his number so I called directory enquiries. The (a) ___gave me his office number. I (b) ___the number, but his (c) ___was busy and I had to leave a (d) __on his (e) __. I asked him to return my (f) ___. Then, I decided to try his (g) __. I got trough, but there was a bad (h) ___. When we finally spoke, I could not remember why I wanted to call him!

Speaking

I. What you would say in these situations.

Example: You are the manager. The phone rings and you pick it up. The caller asks “Is that the manager?” What do you say?

a. Your female colleague is off work as she has just had a baby. What do you say to the caller who wants to speak to her?

b. You are in a meeting and you receive a call on your mobile phone. You cannot speak. What do you say?

c. Leave a message on your colleague’s voicemail. Say that you called and ask him or her to call back when she or he gets the message.

d. You don’t catch the caller’s name. Ask him to spell it.

e. A colleague phones to let you know her hotel number but you can’t hear her very well. You are not sure whether it is fifteen or fifty. What do you say?

II. Practice telephone conversations with your partner:

a .You telephone and ask to speak to John. He is out.

You do not want to leave a message but will call back later.

b. You telephone your partner. Your partner answers the phone. You want to know if he is doing anything on Saturday morning because you would like him to come swimming with you. Say when and where to meet.

c. A client calls your office and asks to speak to one of your colleagues. Your colleague is not in the office.

d. You are late for a meeting with a client. The client is waiting for you in your office.

Lesson 2. Making telephone calls

Warm up

I. Complete this questionnaire about telephone habits.

1. How many hours do you spend on the phone in a typical working day?

2. Do you make more calls, or receive more calls?

make receive

3. Which do you use most, a mobile or a landline?

mobile landline

4. How do you feel when answering the phone at work?

completely-relaxed

less comfortable than speaking face-to-face

anxious

5. How often do you make a phone call purely for pleasure?

often sometimes rarely never

6. How do you feel if you do not have your mobile phone with you?

relaxed a little uncomfortable very uncomfortable I always have it

Lexical exercises

Active vocabulary