Speak English Professionally (Week 3)

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Powerful Phone Talk

Telephone Language

Request

  • Could you please confirm the delivery date?
  • Could you give me more information about this?
  • Do you have a minute to review this?

  • Would you mind going over this with me?

    Different ways to say yes

    • Yes, I’d be happy to.
    • Certainly, what would you like to know?
    • Of course.
    • Not at all.

    Here’s some polite ways to say no

    • I’m sorry, I’m unable to confirm at this time. I’ll get back with you as soon as I can.
    • Unfortunately, I’m not able to at this time. Could I call you back?
    • Sorry, I’m busy right now, but will be happy to call you back.

Asking for repetition or clarification is a normal part of phone conversation. So don’t be shy to do so. Here’s what you can say.

  • I’m sorry. I missed that. What did you just say?
  • Excuse me. I didn’t catch what you just said. Could you say it again please?

  • Sorry. I’m not sure I understand. What does that mean?

    Here’s the response.

    • Let me explain.
    • I’d be happy to. Certainly, what I mean is.

Close a conversation

  • Thanks so much. I look forward to speaking with you again. Goodbye.
  • It’s been great talking to you. Thank you. Goodbye.
  • I’ve enjoyed this conversation and hope we’ll talk again soon. Goodbye.

Understand and Be Understood on the Phone

Can/Can’t

When I say can inside a sentence, I shorten the a, when I say can’t, I stress that a and make it really long. If you or the other person just don’t hear the difference, saying cannot rather than can’t will help solve the problem.

Numbers

Both the stress, and the sound of the T are different. We stress teens on the second syllable, and tens on the first. The t in the teen number sounds like t, but the t in the tens sounds more like d.
We divide the numbers and prices at the decimal point and similarly split the numbers when we talk about the time, in two.
If we don’t follow these standard pronunciations, it can lead to miscommunication. One of the easiest ways to avoid this is to simply repeat the number by saying one digit at a time.

Phone Roly Play

Phone Conversation

  • Valuable business tool
  • Direct & Personal
  • Fastest way for Q&A, making requests, solving problems.

Tone of Voice

  • Let’s them hear you smile
  • Shows you’re agreeable, friendly, helpful
  • Tell them more than just words