You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin, and I'll be your host for this episode on controlling a telephone call.
If you're like most people, talking on the telephone is a basic part of work life.
We talk with colleagues, customers, potential clients, suppliers, company reps.
The list goes on and on.
In fact, the telephone has become even more important, as we spend less time at our desks and more time dealing with people remotely.
As you surely know, talking on the telephone is not always easy.
We can't use the same techniques that we might use when talking to someone face to face.
We need to learn a new set of skills.
It is these skills that we are looking at in this series about controlling the call.
If you learn to do this well, you'll end each conversation with a sense of achievement and purpose.
In today's lesson, we'll hear a conversation between Chris and Nick.
Chris is calling Nick to inform him about some price changes and to arrange a meeting.
As you will hear, the caller carefully controls the conversation and gets the outcome she wants.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
1.
What reason does Chris give for the change in prices?
2.
When will the price changes take effect?
3.
Why does Chris want to meet with Nick?
Hello, Nick speaking.
Hi Nick, Chris here at Aspen Office Supplies.
Oh hey Chris, how's it going?
Oh, not so bad.
But hey, I just wanted to update you on some recent developments.
Sure, go for it.
So listen, it looks like this rise in fuel prices is here to stay.
I know it's been hitting us hard.
I'm sure you folks are feeling it too.
Yeah, it's squeezing the hell out of our margins.
I hear you.
And we've had a good hard look at things too.
And it's been two years since we bumped our prices.
So management has decided on a modest increase three months from now.
That's not too soon for you guys, is it?
Increase, huh?
Well, three months is pretty fair warning.
It's just, you said modest?
What exactly are we talking about?
Well, we're looking at 5 to 7% on most products.
But we're also going to have slightly bigger volume discounts for our major clients.
And that includes you guys.
So what I'd like to do is sit down with you and go over some options for next year.
Options for next year, huh?
Yes.
We can run some numbers and figure out if we can actually save you money in the long run.
Are you with me on this?
For sure.
Let's sit down and talk it over.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and talk about how Chris is controlling the call.
Hello, Nick speaking.
Hi, Nick.
Chris here at Aspen Office Supplies.
Oh, hey, Chris.
How's it going?
Oh, not so bad.
But hey, I just wanted to update you on some recent developments.
We can hear in their greetings that Nick and Chris are familiar with each other.
Nick uses the informal expressions, hey, Chris, and how's it going?
But although they're familiar, Chris doesn't spend too long making small talk.
She answers Nick's question and says but hey, to introduce the purpose of her call, which is to update Nick on what's been happening,
In other words, she wants to give him the latest news.
By starting with a clear purpose, Chris sets the tone and direction of the call.
Let's listen to some more examples of how you can do this.
I was hoping you could give me some info on the quarterly report.
I've got some good news for you and a small favor to ask.
I'd like to schedule a meeting with you as soon as possible.
Now, let's hear what Chris does next.
Sure, go for it.
So listen, it looks like this rise in fuel prices is here to stay.
I know it's been hitting us hard.
I'm sure you folks are feeling it too.
Nick tells Chris to go for it.
He is simply agreeing to the purpose of the call and telling Chris to deliver her news.
But the news, which might not make Nick too happy, doesn't come right away.
Instead, Chris sets up the bad news by explaining the reasons for it first.
She uses the expression so listen to indicate that she's giving an explanation and she talks about how the rise in fuel prices has been hitting or affecting their company hard.
Chris also guesses that Nick's company has been affected too, which will make the news she's about to give more understandable.
Explaining reasons before giving the bad news is an excellent way of softening a person's reaction.
It sets up a logical context for the information we're about to give.
In these examples, you can hear how the speaker is trying to prepare the listener for some bad news.
Things have been really hectic around here in the lead up to Christmas.
So, I'm sure you've heard about the snowstorms in the Midwest.
Listen, Ken, we've had to let several designers go in the past few months.
Okay, now you probably know that we've been trying to reduce our costs.
Let's hear what happens next.
Yeah, it's squeezing the hell out of our margins.
I hear you.
And we've had a good hard look at things too.
And it's been two years since we bumped our prices.
So management has decided on a modest increase three months from now.
That's not too soon for you guys, is it?
Nick says that the rising fuel prices are squeezing their margins.
In this case, Nick is talking about the difference between income and cost, which translates into profit.
The difference is being squeezed or made smaller because costs are going up.
Chris agrees informally with I hear you.
She is now in a good position to deliver the bad news, because Nick already understands the reasons for it.
Chris says that her company has examined the situation or had a good hard look at it.
She also explains that they haven't bumped or raised prices in two years.
For all these reasons, it now seems to make sense that the company has decided to increase prices slightly.
After saying that the change will happen in three months' time, Chris tries to get Nick's agreement.
To do this, she uses a negative statement and a tag question.
She says, that's not too soon, and is it?
When a question is asked in this way, it is more difficult for the listener to disagree.
Listen to how negative statements and tag questions are used in these examples.
Notice how it might feel natural to accept the statement.
That doesn't sound too difficult, does it?
Those changes to the website shouldn't take too long, should they?
This isn't going to be too much of an adjustment for you guys, is it?
You weren't needing that delivery this afternoon, were you?
So, how does Nick respond to Chris's question?
Increase, huh?
Well, three months is pretty fair warning.
It's just, you said modest?
What exactly are we talking about?
Well, we're looking at 5% to 7% on most products.
But we're also going to have slightly bigger volume discounts for our major clients, and that includes you guys.
So what I'd like to do is sit down with you and go over some options for next year.
Nick agrees that three months is not too soon, calling it fair warning.
Then he asked more specifically what Chris meant when she said the increase will be modest.
If an increase is modest, it is small.
But Chris might have a different idea of a modest increase than Nick.
Chris explains that the increase will be 5% to 7%.
And she follows this by letting Nick know about the possibility of bigger discounts for major clients such as Nick's company.
At this point, Chris doesn't just let Nick go away and think about things.
Instead, she controls the next step by saying so, what I'd like to do, and by suggesting a meeting to go over or discuss some options.
A big part of managing a call is guiding the other person through each step of a process that you control.
You can hear how this is done in these examples.
Here's what we need to do next.
Greg and I will bring some samples over.
OK, now let's see if we can agree on price.
Great stuff.
So what I'm going to do now is talk to one of my managers about this.
We need to get that contract signed pronto, so I'm going to come by tomorrow.
Now, back to the dialogue.
Options for next year, huh?
Yes, we can run some numbers and figure out if we can actually save you money in the long run.
Are you with me on this?
Nick sounds a bit hesitant, but Chris explains that she'd like to do some calculations or run some numbers, as she says, to find out if she can save Nick's company some money.
They are discussing a price increase, but Chris is actually saying Nick could save money in the long run or sometime in the future.
It sounds like an opportunity rather than bad news.
But Chris needs Nick to agree.
And for that, she asked Nick, are you with me on this?
Being with someone on something means that you accept a plan or process.
When you control a call, you need to make sure that the other person agrees with what you're saying and doing.
Listen to these simple examples of a person trying to confirm that someone agrees.
Does that sound okay with you?
Do you see what I'm saying here?
Okay, are we together on this?
So do we have a deal?
So does Nick actually agree with Chris's idea?
For sure.
Let's sit down and talk it over.
Yes, Nick agrees.
And Chris has successfully taken the phone call exactly where she wanted it to go.
Now, let's practice some of the language we've learned today.
Imagine you work for a computer company.
You're calling a client to explain that you won't be able to make repairs until the following week.
You'll need to start with a clear purpose.
Explain the reason before giving the bad news.
Use negatives and tag questions to get agreement and take control of the next step.
At each step you'll hear a prompt with words you can use for your response and we'll play an example.
Answer for each stage.
You'll need to start by clearly stating the purpose of your call.
OK.
Arrange.
Time.
Repairs.
Answer.
Okay, so we need to arrange a time for your repairs.
Now you need to give some reasons before delivering the bad news.
No.
We.
Busy.
Recently.
Answer.
As you know, we've been very busy recently.
Next, break the bad news.
I'm afraid not able to repair until Monday.
Answer.
So I'm afraid we won't be able to repair your computers until next Monday.
Now get the person's agreement by using a negative statement and a tag question.
Should it?
Answer That shouldn't be a big problem, should it?
Finally, you need to take control of the next step.
Find Time Next Monday Works Answer.
So, let's find a time next Monday that works for you.
Now, let's practice useful vocabulary and idioms.
You'll hear a series of sentences where the word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence, saying the missing word.
For example, if you hear... Hi, Reggie.
I'm calling to...
You can say, We'll play the correct answer after each question.
Let's begin.
The change in benefits will affect employees across the answer the change in benefits will affect employees across the board.
It costs money now, but in the long we'll save.
Answer it costs money now, but in the long run we'll save.
We need a meeting to have a good hard at our strategy.
Answer.
We need a meeting to have a good hard look at our strategy.
Jenny and I had the chance to go... the sales figures yesterday.
Answer.
Jenny and I had the chance to go over the sales figures yesterday.
We've reached the end of this episode, the second in our two-part series about controlling a telephone call.
Today we've learned how to start with a clear purpose, explain reasons before bad news and take control of next steps.
We've also heard how to get agreement in a few different ways.
Thanks for listening, and see you next time.
