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Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod for today's lesson on making arrangements on the telephone.
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Communication can be hard enough with a person who's right in front of you.
It gets even harder when you're on the telephone and you can't see the person.
And if it's all in a language other than your native language well, let's just say, things aren't easy.
When talking on the telephone, clarity is critical.
You can see how important it is to be clear when you make arrangements.
If you're talking about times and places and making plans, confusion could lead to missed appointments, missed flights or missed opportunities.
Some skills are useful in all phone conversations, like asking if someone is busy when you call them.
Other skills are especially useful for making arrangements like interrupting someone to confirm information and asking about preferences.
You might also have to reassure people and show flexibility when making arrangements.
In today's dialogue we'll join a telephone conversation between Marco and Adriana.
Marco works for an Italian fashion company called Viva.
Adriana works for Foxtrot, Viva's distributor in the US.
Marco is calling to make arrangements for a visit to the US for an expo or trade show.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What does Marco ask Adriana before he begins discussing their travel arrangements?
2.
When Marco begins telling Adriana about his flight plans, how does she interrupt him?
3.
How does Marco respond to Adriana's question about the kind of food they want to eat?
Hello, Foxtrot Fashion.
This is Adriana.
How can I help you?
Hello, this is Marco speaking from Viva in Italy.
Marco, how are you doing?
Just fine, thanks.
How about you?
Very well.
Good.
I'm just calling about the Expo in Las Vegas.
Are you in the middle of anything?
No, that's fine.
This is perfect timing.
That's great.
Okay.
We've already booked our flight.
Uh-huh.
When are you getting in?
It's flight UA5918 from Los Angeles.
Oh, wait a sec.
Let me write this down.
UA5918.
That's right.
Arriving at 5.15 p.m. on Saturday, March 8th.
Great.
Got that.
We'll arrange for somebody to pick you up.
Perfect.
And what about a hotel?
Can we help you book something?
Yes, that would be great.
What are you looking for?
Well, we don't need anything special.
Just close to the exhibition center would be great.
I know just the place.
Could you make sure they have internet access and a business center?
Of course.
Don't worry about a thing.
We'll take care of everything.
Great.
And one last thing.
We'd love to take you out on Sunday evening for a good meal.
Sounds lovely.
We're looking forward to finally meeting you.
So are we.
What kind of food were you thinking of?
Italian.
Just kidding.
It doesn't matter.
Whatever you guys prefer.
We're up for anything.
Well, I know a great place.
You'll love it.
Wonderful.
So we look forward to seeing you here on the 8th.
Yes, looking forward to it.
Any questions, just send me an email.
Of course, I'll do that.
Bye.
Bye.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques Marco and Adriana used to make arrangements.
Notice how both Adriana and Marco clearly identify themselves at the start of the call.
Hello, Foxtrot Fashion.
This is Adriana.
How can I help you?
Hello, this is Marco speaking from Viva in Italy.
Marco, how are you doing?
Just fine, thanks.
How about you?
Very well.
Good.
I'm just calling about the expo in Las Vegas.
Are you in the middle of anything?
Marco and Adriana have a bit of small talk at the start of the conversation, but Marco wants to get into his reason for calling.
Before giving details, he asks Adriana if she's in the middle of anything.
He means is she busy doing something?
Some calls are simple and short.
But if you need to discuss something in detail, it's polite to ask the person you're calling if they're busy.
This tells them you've got some questions or things to discuss that might need a bit of time.
If they are in the middle of something, you can simply arrange a better time.
What are some other ways we can ask if someone's busy when we call them on the phone?
Let's practice some more examples.
Do you have a second to chat?
Can we talk now, or is it best to call you back?
Are you busy at the moment?
So, is Adriana in the middle of something when Marco calls?
No, that's fine.
This is perfect timing.
That's great.
Okay, we've already booked our flight.
Uh-huh.
When are you getting in?
As you can hear, Marco is talking about his travel plans and mentions that he has reserved or booked a flight.
And Adriana wants to know what time the flight arrives, or as she says, what time it gets in.
What happens next?
It's flight UA5918 from Los Angeles.
Oh, wait a sec.
Let me write this down.
UA5918.
Marco begins by telling Adriana the flight number, and Adriana immediately sees that there will be some detailed information for her to remember.
She doesn't want to miss anything or try simply to remember it all.
So what does she do?
She interrupts Marco to confirm what he has just said and write down the details.
To interrupt someone, you just need a short phrase like wait a sec or hold on, and then you can confirm the information.
Let's run through some more ways of interrupting to confirm information.
Just a moment.
Did you say 4 p.m. or 3?
Can I just stop you there and make sure I've got that right?
Hold on a sec, please.
You said you're at 114 Fulton Plaza, right?
I'm sorry, but let me just write this down.
You said we'll leave on the 18th?
Now that Adriana has confirmed the flight number, Marco will tell her when it arrives.
Let's listen.
That's right.
Arriving at 5.15 p.m. on Saturday, March 8th.
Great.
Got that.
We'll arrange for somebody to pick you up.
Perfect.
And what about a hotel?
Can we help you book something?
Yes, that would be great.
What are you looking for?
Adriana tells Marco that someone will pick him up, which means they will come to the airport to take him where he needs to go.
This is a common expression when we make travel arrangements with someone.
Note that after picking someone up, we will then drop them off at their destination.
We can imagine that Marco will be dropped off at a hotel and Marco accepts Adriana's offer of help to find one.
Of course, people have different preferences when it comes to travel and accommodation, among other things.
So when we make arrangements, we often ask about those preferences.
Adriana asks a very open question.
What are you looking for?
We can also ask about more specific preferences, as we can hear in the following examples.
Would you prefer something downtown or closer to the airport?
Any particular time of day that you'd like to fly out?
Regarding a rental car, what kind of vehicle are you looking for?
There are a few options for dinner.
Any preferences there?
Now let's find out if Marco has any preferences when it comes to hotels.
Well, we don't need anything special.
Just close to the exhibition center would be great.
I know just the place.
Could you make sure they have internet access and a business center?
Of course.
Don't worry about a thing.
We'll take care of everything.
Marco doesn't have too many preferences, but he does want something close to the exhibition center which is just like a conference center.
And he does emphasize that he needs internet and a business center which usually features computers and printers, for people traveling on business.
Adriana has offered to make hotel arrangements, and now she wants to reassure him that she'll arrange exactly what he needs.
She tells him not to worry and assures him that she'll take care of everything.
If we are helping someone make arrangements, it's nice to reassure them that we're taking care of it.
This may be especially important on the phone, because there's more chance of misunderstanding or misinformation.
Let's go through some more ways to reassure someone.
I've got all the arrangements made.
No problem.
I know there's a lot going on, but we've got it all covered.
All the flights are booked, and there's nothing more you need to do.
We'll confirm everything by email to you shortly.
Now that they've discussed the flight and hotel, there's one more topic to discuss.
Let's listen.
Great.
And one last thing.
We'd love to take you out on Sunday evening for a good meal.
Sounds lovely.
We're looking forward to finally meeting you.
So are we.
What kind of food were you thinking of?
Italian.
Just kidding.
It doesn't matter.
Whatever you guys prefer.
We're up for anything.
As you can hear, Marco's team would like to take Adriana's team out for a meal.
That is, they want to treat her to dinner.
To take someone out is a common phrasal verb used in making arrangements.
Now, sometimes we have strong preferences, and sometimes we don't.
When we don't have strong preferences, it's good to show flexibility.
That is what Marco is doing when he responds to Adriana's question about the type of food they might eat.
He says that it's whatever they prefer and that he's up for anything.
If you are up for something, it means you're okay with it.
Let's practice some more ways of showing flexibility when it comes to making arrangements on the phone.
Oh, we're good with whatever accommodation you choose.
Morning or afternoon, either one would be okay with us.
We're okay with any of the routes you've suggested.
If Sunday is better for you folks, we're totally fine with that.
Now that they've discussed their arrangements, let's hear the end of Marco and Adriana's conversation.
Well, I know a great place.
You'll love it.
Wonderful.
So we look forward to seeing you here on the 8th.
Yes.
Looking forward to it.
Any questions, just send me an email.
Of course.
I'll do that.
Bye.
Bye.
Well, Marco and Adriana have successfully made arrangements for Marco's visit to the US, and they both seem to be looking forward to it, which is a very common thing to say to someone when you've made plans to do something together.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine your office is going to host some people from another company.
You are calling to confirm a few details.
You'll hear a cue from the other person.
Then I'll make a suggestion of what you can say in response.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Hello, Kelly.
I'm glad you've reached out.
How are you?
Start by saying you're well and ask if the person has a moment to chat right now.
Answer.
I'm doing well, thanks.
Do you have a moment to chat?
Yeah, sure.
I was actually just reviewing plans for our trip on the 13th.
Now interrupt to confirm that the trip is on the 13th, not the 30th.
Answer.
Just a sec.
Can I confirm that it is the 13th, not the 30th?
That's right.
We were hoping to arrive on the 13th and spend the 14th at your office.
Now say that's great, and ask if they have any food or dietary preferences.
Answer.
That's great.
And can I ask if you folks have any food or dietary preferences?
We're pretty open, except one major issue is that I'm allergic to nuts.
Next, tell the person not to worry about that, and that you'll make sure nothing has nuts in it.
Answer.
Ah, don't worry about that.
I'll make sure nothing has nuts in it.
Appreciate it.
And I'm wondering if we can do an early start that day.
Finally say that you're very flexible and can start at any time that works.
Answer.
Yeah, we're very flexible.
We can start at any time that works for you.
We've learned how to ask if someone is busy and interrupt to confirm information.
We've also looked at asking about preferences, reassuring someone and showing flexibility when making plans.
For more practice.
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