Hello, English learners. Welcome back to EnglishPod.
My name is Marco. And I'm Erica. And today...
We're bringing you a lesson that was requested by one of our listeners.
Yes that's right. We got a request for a dialogue about a receptionist.
So a receptionist at an office or at a hotel.
So today's dialogue is simple, but we're gonna be looking at some really great phrases.
Yeah, phrases that will help you sound really, really professional and really fluent.
So we are at an office today and the receptionist is greeting somebody that has an All right, let's see what happens.
Good afternoon. May I help you? Yes, I'm here to see Joanna Stevens.
I have an appointment at 4. Certainly. May I take your name?
I'll let her know you've arrived. Sure. It's Josh O'Neill.
Miss Stevens will be with you momentarily.
Can I offer you something to drink? Yes, coffee would be nice.
Thank you. Here you are. Miss Stevens is ready for you now.
I'll show you to her office right this way.
Just watch your step here. Well, that's pretty embarrassing, hey?
That was embarrassing. That's what happens to women when they wear high heels, see?
Actually, that happened to me last weekend.
Really? I fell down the stairs and my knees are quite blue.
Oh, no, see, high heels are dangerous. I don't know why women wear them.
Well, I don't know, but that's not what we're here to discover.
Right. Okay, so let's take a look at some of these great phrases in Fluency Builder.
Well, I really liked how this receptionist used some excellent phrases to sound really professional. and one thing she said was certainly certainly certainly so why did she say certainly Well, this is a nice way to respond to make the other person know that you understand what they said.
So Josh O'Neill said, yes, I'm here to see you, Joanna Stevens.
I have an appointment at 4. Certainly. So she is saying I understand what you said.
Yes. And then she said, may I take your name?
May I take your name? May I take your name?
So this is a nice way of saying. what is your name yeah so now this is really important because if you said what is your name is that correct it's correct but it's not really very exactly more I would say plight to a certain extent Yes.
Okay. So may I take your name? May I take your name?
You use this phrase when you are going to write down the person's name.
Right. So if you meet somebody on the street or at a bar, you wouldn't say, may I take your name?
No. Right. Unless you're going to write it down.
So usually for an office setting where the receptionist has to write down the name.
Yes. Alright, one more phrase. Ms. Stevens will be with you momentarily.
OK, Miss Stevens will be with you momentarily.
Will be with you momentarily. Okay, so this is really polite.
Yes. Momentarily, what does that mean? In a moment.
In a moment. Soon. Again, she could have said...
Miss Stevens will come out soon or Miss Stevens will see you in a minute.
Yes. But again, it's not really that polite, right?
Yeah. So when you want to be formal, you can say, Ms.
Stevens will be with you momentarily. Okay, that's a really nice phrase.
All right, there's so much in this dialogue, so many great, wonderful, polite phrases.
So why don't we listen to it one more time, but this time slowed down.
Good afternoon. May I help you? Yes, I'm here to see Joanna Stevens.
I have an appointment at four. Certainly.
May I take your name? I'll let her know you've arrived.
Sure. It's Josh O'Neill. Ms. Stevens will be with you momentarily.
Can I offer you something to drink? Yes, coffee would be nice.
Thank you. Here you are. Miss Stevens is ready for you now.
I'll show you to her office. Right this way.
Just watch your step here. OK. It's pretty clear now, but there are still a couple of phrases that I would like to look at.
So why don't we look at the last two sentences.
Okay. Miss Stevens is ready for you now.
Miss Stevens is ready for you now. Miss Stevens is ready for you.
So when she says ready for you, what does that mean?
Prepared to speak to you. Okay. So instead of saying Miss Stevens is ready or Miss Stevens can see you now.
Yes. You use this. great little phrase is ready for you.
Okay. And then she said, I'll show you to her office.
I'll show you to her office. I'll show you to her office.
This is a lovely way of saying I will take you to the office.
Take you to the office. And she followed it by saying.
Right this way. Right this way. Right this way.
So, again, walk this way. Walk this way.
This way, please. Yes. Right this way. It sounds really, really nice, really polite, really welcoming.
Right. And especially if you use it together, right?
I'll show you to her office right this way, please.
Yes. Okay, so it's a really great way of being polite to somebody at an office.
Now, the final useful phrase, watch your step.
Watch your step. Watch your step. So... Watch your step.
You see that everywhere in science. Be careful.
Be careful where you step. Yes, be careful where you're walking.
Okay. So obviously she didn't watch her step and she fell.
She fell. Okay, so really great phrases.
Let's listen to this dialogue one last time. good afternoon may I help you yes I'm here to see Joanna Stevens I have an appointment at 4 certainly May I take your name?
I'll let her know you've arrived. Sure. It's Josh O'Neill.
Miss Stevens will be with you momentarily.
Can I offer you something to drink? Yes, coffee would be nice.
Thank you. Here you are. Miss Stevens is ready for you now.
I'll show you to her office right this way.
Just watch your step here. All right. So a really simple dialogue, but with a lot of good phrases in there.
And it's also a good review for more advanced students, right?
Yeah, remember, these phrases can really help you sound more professional, more welcoming, more polite, basically.
Okay. so if you have any questions or doubts please come to our website englishpod.com And Marco and I are always around to respond to your questions and comments.
Okay, guys. So we'll see you there. And until next time, it's goodbye.
