You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin and I'll be your host for this episode, the second part of our look at answering the phone and taking a message.
In this lesson, we'll focus on taking a message.
It's difficult to imagine doing business without having to talk on the telephone.
You must be able to handle calls professionally and project a good image of yourself and your business with only your voice.
Remember effective telephone skills will leave a good impression on customers clients, colleagues and your boss.
In our last lesson, we looked at answering a call effectively.
We heard an example of poor telephone skills and started in on a dialogue that demonstrated good telephone skills.
Today, we're going to continue with that dialogue and look at how to take a message.
Have you ever missed a telephone message?
Or have you received a message that didn't contain the necessary information?
If so, then you understand how important it is not just to take a message, but to do it right.
We'll look at ways to ask someone to leave a message, information that should be included in a message and how to offer help.
You will also learn how to acknowledge, check back, and confirm information that a caller gives you.
Now let's rejoin Mark, who works for a company called Travesco.
He is calling a shipping company, Dane Line, hoping to speak with someone named Sylvie Peterson.
Sylvie is not there, so Mark has to leave a message with Amy, the receptionist.
As you listen, try to answer these questions.
1.
How does the tone of Amy's voice sound?
2.
What information does Mark include in his message?
Three, how does Amy make sure she has Mark's phone number correct?
Hello, Dayline.
This is Amy.
How may I help you?
Hi, Amy.
My name is Mark Rand.
I'm calling for Sylvie Peterson.
Just a moment, please.
All right.
Thanks for holding.
Sorry, Sylvia's not in at the moment.
Would you like to leave a message?
Yes.
Please tell her that Mark Rand with Travesco called.
I'd like to talk to her about the construction schedule for 2008.
Construction schedule for 2008.
Of course, Mr. Rand.
Where can she reach you?
I'm out of the office at the moment, so please have her call me on my cell phone, 390-929-1914.
All right.
That's 390-929-1940.
Is that right?
No, sorry.
Instead of 1940, it should be 1914-14.
1914-14.
Got that.
Can I do anything else for you, Mr. Rand?
No, thank you.
You're welcome.
Bye now.
Bye.
Now, let's go through this dialogue in more detail.
In our last episode, we talked about how Amy answers the phone.
Today, we're going to focus on how she takes a message.
Amy shows us that it's important to thank the caller for holding.
People's time is very valuable. and we should show them we understand that when we make them wait.
Amy apologizes that Sylvie is not in or at the office and asks politely if Mark would like to leave a message.
Now listen to some other ways to say that someone is out or unavailable and to ask if the caller would like to leave a message.
Sorry, Fred is out right now.
Can I take a message?
Sorry, it looks like Cindy has stepped away from her desk.
Would you like to leave a message?
Ms.
Wells is in a meeting now.
Can I do anything for you?
George is out of the office this week on a business trip.
Do you want me to leave a message?
Of course, if the person being called is actually in the office and available, you can transfer the call by saying thanks for waiting.
I'll put you through.
Or, thank you for holding, I'll transfer your call.
Now, listen as Mark leaves his message.
Yes, please tell her that Mark Rand with Travesco called.
I'd like to talk to her about the construction schedule for 2008.
What does Mark include in his message?
He includes his name, the company he works for, and the reason he is calling.
These are all things that we need to know in a telephone message.
Mark understands this and gives this information immediately.
If he didn't, Amy would have to ask for it.
What are some other ways to give essential message information?
Yes, could you tell him that Arnie Waters from Microtech rang?
I'm calling about the new software release.
Yes, please tell Michael that Brooks from TriStar called.
I was hoping to schedule a meeting with him for this Thursday or Friday afternoon.
Uh-huh.
Please pass on the message that Pat called.
It's about the new contract.
In the first example, you heard the word rang.
To ring or phone someone is more British English, while Americans tend to say call or give someone a call.
Next, Amy wants to make sure she heard Mark correctly.
Construction schedule for 2008.
Of course, Mr. Ran.
Where can she reach you?
Why is Amy repeating the information she just received?
She wants to check to make sure or confirm that she has it correct.
Remember, mistakes and messages can cause a lot of confusion or problems.
You will also notice that Amy doesn't call him Mark.
Instead, she uses the formal Mr. Rand.
This shows respect for the caller.
If Amy and Mark develop more of a working relationship, then Amy might switch to using his first name.
But for now, she wants to maintain a high level of professionalism.
There's one key piece of information that Mark hasn't given yet.
Construction schedule for 2008.
Of course, Mr. Rand.
Where can she reach you?
I'm out of the office at the moment, so please have her call me on my cell phone, 390-929-1914.
Amy asks where Sylvie can reach or contact Mark.
Of course, when you take a message you have to make sure you get a telephone number where the caller can be reached.
In this case, Mark is out of the office, so he can only be contacted on his cell phone.
But in other cases it can be a good idea to get two numbers, an office number and a cell phone number, just to be sure.
Now, we heard Amy repeat some information back to Mark just to confirm it.
She does this again with the telephone number.
And it's a good thing she does, as we can see.
All right.
That's 390-929-1940.
Is that right?
No, sorry.
Instead of 1940, it should be 191414.
What Amy does is acknowledge, check back, and confirm the information that Mark just gave her.
To acknowledge, she says, all right.
To check back, she says, that's 3909291940.
That's 3909291940.
And to confirm, she says, is that right?
It's very good to check important information such as telephone numbers, because they are easy to get wrong.
The numbers 40 and 14 are often confused, especially on the phone.
Let's look at some other ways to acknowledge, check back, and confirm.
Acknowledge.
I see.
All right.
Uh-huh.
Okay.
Check back.
So that's 345 Pickford Street.
So you mean you will arrive at 7.15 p.m.?
That's 303-442-2996.
And confirm.
Is that right?
Right?
Is that correct?
Have I got that right?
This technique is essential to good telephone skills, so let's practice.
You'll hear someone give you a telephone number.
After the beep, acknowledge, check back and confirm the information you hear.
After each question, we'll play an example answer.
Are you ready?
Let's give it a go.
Yes, my number is 410-978-7875
I see.
So that's 410-978-7875.
Is that right?
Could you have her call me back at 219203-9293?
Of course.
So that's 2192039293.
Have I got that correct?
Okay, what happens after Amy gets the phone number correct?
Can I do anything else for you, Mr. Rand?
No, thank you.
You're welcome.
Bye now.
Bye.
Before finishing a call, the person who takes a message should make one last offer of help, just as Amy does.
What are some other ways to make a final offer of help?
Is there anything else I can do for you today, Steve?
Is there anything else I can help you with, Mandy?
Amy has done a very good job here of maintaining professionalism right to the end.
As a final note, if you are the receiver, remember to let the caller hang up first.
Now, let's practice some useful vocabulary and idioms.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence saying the missing word.
For example, if you hear, You can say, If you can't reach me at the office, call me at home.
After each response, we'll play the correct answer.
Let's begin.
Charles was when i called, so i left a message.
Answer charles was out when i called, so i left a message.
Robert accidentally two meetings for the same time?
Answer Robert accidentally scheduled two meetings for the same time.
Spencer is so confusing that I never what he's saying.
Answer Spencer is so confusing that I never get what he's saying.
That's all for today's episode on taking a telephone message.
We've looked at what the process involves for both the caller and the receiver.
We've also studied some very useful expressions that you can use in your own calls, like how to acknowledge, check back and confirm.
Thanks for listening and see you next time.
