13.4. Writing Enhancement

Assignment 1. Test yourself with the quiz! Finish the sentence by choosing the correct words and discarding those which do not fit in.

TELEPHONE – MESSAGES QUIZ

1. He’s not in his office at the moment, …

take / can / your / message / I / a / please

2. She’ll be back in the office this afternoon, …

later / call / can / back / you / soon / message

3. Can I speak to June Wilkinson please? …

meeting / afraid / I’m / she’s / a / in / at / on

4. Could you ask him to ring me back please? My number is 020 7558 4567. …

message / I’ll / sure / make / OK / gets / he / the / an / on

Assignment 2. Correct the mistakes in phrases 1 – 10. The first one is done for you as an example.

Another thing to think about when talking on the telephone is (1) formalism. It's important to use the right (2) level in formality – if you are too formal, people might find it difficult to feel comfortable when they talk to you. On the other hand, if you are too informal, people might think you are rude!

Generally speaking, if you are talking to someone in a business context, you should use could, can, may or would when you make a request: (3) 'Could I speak with Jason Roberts, please?' (4) 'Can I take message?' (5) 'Would the next Wednesday be okay?'. You should also use please and thank you or thanks very much whenever you ask for, or receive, help or information.

It's important to show politeness by using words like would, could, please, thank you etc. But it's also okay to use some of the features of informal/spoken English – short forms, phrasal verbs and words like okay and bye – in other words – everyday English! So phrases like (6) I'm off to a conference..., no any problem, bye! and (7) Hang up a moment and I'll put you through are perfectly acceptable, as long as the overall tone of the conversation is polite.

One last tip – it's better to ask for help or clarification when you're having a telephone conversation, than to pretend you understand something that you didn't. It's perfectly acceptable to use phrases like (8) 'Could you repeat that again, please?' (9) 'Could you speak a little more slowler, please?' and (10) 'Would you mind to spell that for me please?' Using phrases like these will help make sure that you have a successful phone call, and may save you from lots of problems later on. You could always say that (11) the line's very badly today if you can't hear very well. And it's also a good idea to practise words, phrases and vocabulary before you make the call!

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