The second part of our free class on answering the telephone in English. In this lesson we have lots of examples of phrases which we can use in many different types of telephone conversations.
Good morning / Good afternoon + YOUR NAME + Speaking
We can combine the two phrases:
Good afternoon, Tech Alpha, Chris speaking.
In this class
In this class we are going to look at phrases and questions you need if you answer the phone in English. If you're only interested in making calls in English, then you should take a look at our classes: How to make a call 1 and How to make a call 2.
The caller
Before we go into details, here is a word which you need to know. The person who makes a telephone call is the 'caller'.
Telephone scenarios
When we answer the external line of our company normally the caller will want to speak to one of our colleagues or to someone in a particular department. Let's look at some common scenarios.
1. The caller wants to speak to a colleague
Perhaps the caller wants to speak with one of our colleagues. This is probably the most common scenario. The caller will say:
Can I speak with.....?
Or:
Can I speak to....?
There is no difference in meaning. We can also use the modal verb 'could' instead of 'can'. This makes the question a little bit more polite, but there is not much difference between the two forms.
Could I speak with Sarah?
Could I speak to Sarah?
The word 'could' is actually the conditional form of the verb 'can'.
The caller may also say:
Can you put me through to Paul Barrett, please?
This phrase uses the phrasal verb 'put through', which we'll see in the section below:
2. How can we reply to the caller?
Let's look at some example phrases:
Certainly, I'll put you through*. If our colleague is available
Who's calling please? If we want to know who the caller is.
I'm afraid he's not here. If our (male) colleague is not in the office.
I'm afraid she's not here. If our (female) colleague is not in the office.
Now let's look at each different scenario one by one:
2.1 Our colleague is in the office and available
Is our colleague in the office? Is our colleague available? This is the easiest situation!
I'll put you through to him/her now.
Put through
Put through is a phrasal verb. It means to 'connect' the caller with another person.
Most native English speakers will use the phrasal verb 'put through'. Let's take a look at two example phone conversations which show us how to use the verb.
Phone Conversation 1
Here is a very simple phone conversation:
Good morning, Clives Ltd.
Hi, could I speak to John Cole please?
Certainly, I'll put you through now.
Phone Conversation 2
This conversation is more complicated!:
Good morning, Clives Ltd.
Hi, could I speak to Sam Smith please?
Who's speaking, please?
It's Frank from the design agency.
One moment, I'll put you through now.
2.2 Our colleague is in the office, but unavailable
Now let's take a look at some more complicated situations, starting with two more conversations
Phone Conversation 3
This conversation is more complicated!:
Good morning, Simpson Brothers.
Good morning, could I speak to John Simpson in the accounts department?
He's in a meeting at the moment, I'm afraid.
Is his secretary available?
Yes, she is. I'll put you through now.
Phone Conversation 4
This conversation is similar to the previous one, but the caller doesn't need anything urgently:
Hello, Clives Ltd, Alex speaking.
Hi Alex, this is Sam from No Limits Travel. Could you put me through to Mike Jones?
I'm afraid Mike's not available at the moment. Can anyone else help?
No, don't worry. I'll send him an email instead.
His/Her line is engaged
This is also a very common situation in any office! What happens if our colleague isn't able to take the call* because he or she is already talking on the phone?
I'm afraid her/his line's busy at the moment.
I'm afraid she's/he's on the phone at the moment.
I'm afraid she's/he's on the other line.
Unfortunately her/his line is engaged at the moment.
*take a call means to receive a phone call.
All the previous three phrases mean the same thing: our colleague is talking on the phone with someone else. Other situations which might occur during a typical day at work:
I'm afraid she's/he's in a meeting.
She's/He's not at his desk at the moment.
Or, we can simple say:
She's/He's not available at the moment.
Let's use our colleague's name!
In each of the cases above we have to remember if our colleague is a man or a woman and use the correct pronouns (he/she or him/her). You can also use their name if that is easier for you!
John is in a meeting, I'm afraid.
Alex is not available at the moment.
Sarah's line is engaged at the moment.
I'm afraid / Unfortunately.
If our colleague is not available, we normally start the sentence with "I'm afraid" or "unfortunately":
Unfortunately John is not in the office today.
I'm afraid Sarah is in a meeting at the moment.
We can also put "I'm afraid" or "unfortunately" at the end of the sentence:
John is not in the office today, unfortunately.
Sarah is in a meeting at the moment, I'm afraid.
These words make us sound more polite and sympathetic when we are giving negative information.
2.3 Our colleague is out of the office
If our colleague is not in the office, we can say:
I'm afraid he/she is not in the office today.
I'm afraid he/she is on holiday this week.*
I'm afraid he/she is on vacation this week.*
I'm afraid she/he is not in until next Monday.
*These two phrases have the same meaning. The first phrase is more common in British English while the second phrase is more common in American English.
Extra phrases
More phrases which you may need:
How can I help you?
Who would you like to talk to?
Would you like to leave a message?*
Can I help?
*We are writing a class on how to take phone messages in English!
Example Phone Conversations
Phone Conversation 1
Here is a very simple telephone conversation:
Good afternoon, Simpsons Ltd.
Good afternoon, could I speak to someone in the marketing department?
I'm afraid, they're in a meeting at the moment.
More Phone Conversations in English
Do you want to listen to more telephone conversations in English? We have more examples here: Basic phone conversations.
Offering Alternatives
When we answer the phone in English we want to be as professional as possible. If the caller asks to speak to a colleague who is not available, we should offer the caller an alternative. Let's always try to be helpful to the person calling our company!
Phone Conversation 1
Here is a very simple telephone conversation:
Good afternoon, Simpsons Ltd.
Good afternoon, could I speak to someoneto Jack Simpson, the finance director?
I'm afraid Jacks in a board meeting at the moment. Could you call back this afternoon?
Of course. Do you know what time he will be available?
He should be available from 2pm until 6pm.
OK, I'll call back then.
Call back
The phrasal verb 'call back' means to phone somebody again. We can also say:
Could you phone back later?
Offering BETTER alternatives
Of course, it isn't very professional to simply ask the caller to phone back. We can be much more helpful! Here is another conversation where the receptionist tries to assist the caller in a different way:
Phone Conversation 1
Here is a very simple telephone conversation:
Good morning, Clives Ltd.
Hi, could I speak to Sam Smith please?
I'm afraid Sam's not in the office today. Can anyone else help?
Is John Jones available?
Yes, he is. I'll put you through to him now.
Phone Conversation 2
Here is a very simple telephone conversation:
Good morning, Clives Ltd.
Hi, could I speak to Sam Smith please?
I'm afraid Sam's not in the office today. Can I help?
Don't worry. I will send him an email instead.
Do you have his email address?
Yes, I do. Thanks!
Taking messages
If we want to be professional we should ask the caller if he wants to leave a message. There are two main ways to do this. We can ask:
Would you like to leave a message?
Or:
Would you like me to take a message?
Phone Conversation 1
The receptionist asks the caller is they want to leave a message:
Good morning, Alphatech, Sam speaking.
Hi, this is James Barrett from Cost Shop. Could I speak to Alex Jones, please?
I'm afraid Alex is in a meeting at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?
Yes, please. Could you ask Alex to call me as soon as possible?
Sure. Does he have your number?
Yes he does.
OK Sam, I'll give Alex the message as soon as he gets out of the meeting.
Phone Conversation 2
Here is a slightly different version:
Good afternoon, Alphatech, Sam speaking. How can I help you?
Hi, this is James from Cost Shop. Is Alex available?
Unfortunately Alex isn't in the office today. He'll be back tomorrow. Would you like to leave a message?
Yes, please. Could you tell him that the sales conference has been cancelled?
