Telephoning Etiquette

1. Мердок-Стерн Серена. Общение на английском: телефон, факс, E-mail, деловая переписка: учеб. пособие / Серена Мердок-Стерн; пер. с фр. И. И. Максименко. – М.: Астрель: АСТ, 2005. – 142 с.

2. BBC learning English: Telephone. – Режим доступу: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/talkingbusiness/unit1telephone/1connecting.shtml

3. Comfort J. Effective Telephoning / Jeremy Comfort. – OUP, 1997. – 110 p.

4. Garside B., Garside T. Essential Telephoning in English. Student’s book / Barbara Garside, Tony Garside. – CUP, 2002. – 112 p.

5. Hough D. A. Telephone Skills / David A. Hough. – Oxford: Heinemann, 1993. – 80 p.

6. Hughes J. Telephone English / John Hughes. – NY: Macmillan, 2006. – 96 p.

7. Naterop B. J., Revell R. Telephoning in English / B. Jean Naterop, Rod Revell. – CUP, 2005. – 128 p.

8. Wood N. Business and commerce. Workshop / Neil Wood. – OUP, 2003. – 40 p.

 

Telephoning

a) VOCABULARY:

1. receiver; to pick up the receiver; to hang up;
2. dial (v., n.); to dial a number;
3. the line is engaged / busy/free; to engage the line; Hold the line, please.
4. to get through; Are you through?
5. telephone-booth; call-box; call phone;
6. to insert a coin in the slot;
7. buzzing sound;
8. long-distance call;
9. to be disconnected; to be cut off;
10. to get the wrong number;
11. St. Petersburg is on the wire;
12. to call (up) smb; Please, call me (up) at six tomorrow. Who is calling? Peter Brown is calling (speaking).
13. operator;
14. party;
15. private phone;
16. extension (number);
17. to put a call through;
18. Will you call (me) back?
19. You’ve got the wrong number.
20. Number, please!
21. Trunks;
22. long-distance call; trunk call;
23. NOTE: We say each figure separately, pausing after groups of three or four (not two). When the same figure comes twice, British people usually say double.

307 4922 three oh seven, four nine double two

(US three zero seven, four nine two two)

Номер телефона читается 5687—five six eight seven. Если две первые (или последние) цифры номера телефона одинаковые, употребляется слово double: 4417—double four one seven: 3477—three four double seven. Если две средние цифры номера телефона одинаковые, то слово double не употребляется: 7889—seven eight eight nine. Цифра 0 читается [eu].

b) TELEPHONING:

1. answering a private phone

British people usually give their name or number.

Hello. Albert Packard.

Hello. Ardington three seven oh double two. (=37022)

(US Hello. Packard residence. Albert Packard speaking.)

1. asking for a person

Could I speak to Jane Horrabin? (US also Could I speak with...?)

1. saying who you are

Hello, this is Corinne. ‘Could I speak to Jane Horrabin?’ ‘Speaking.’ (Or This is Jane Horrabin (speaking).) (US This is she.)

1. asking who somebody is

Who is that (US Who is this/ Who’s there?)

Who am I speaking to?

Who is that speaking?

1. asking for a number

Could I have extension two oh four six?

What’s the (dialing) code for London? (US...area code…?)

How do I call the operator?

1. if you want the person that you are calling to pay for the call

I’d like to make a reversed (or transferred) charge call to Bristol 37878.

(US I’d like to make a collect call …)

1. if somebody is not there

I’m afraid she’s not in at the moment.

Can I take a message?

Can I leave a message?

I’ll ring/call again later. (US I’ll call…)

Could you ask her to ring/call me back?

Could you ask her to ring/call me at/on Ardington 37022?

Could you just tell her Jake called?

1. asking people to wait

Just a moment.

Hold the line, please.

Hold on a moment, please.

Hang on. (informal)

1. things the operator may say

One moment, please. (I’m) trying to connect you.

(The number’s) ringing for you. (I’m) putting you through now.

I’m afraid the number/line is engaged (GB)/ busy (US). Will you hold?

I’m afraid there’s no reply from this number/from her extension.

1. wrong number

I think you’ve got the wrong number.

I’m sorry. I’ve got the wrong number.

problems

Could you speak louder? It’s a bad line. (US… bad connection.)

It’s a very bad line. I’ll hang up and call again.

I rang you earlier but I couldn’t get through.

 

Telephoning Etiquette

The techniques of telephoning are very much the same in all countries. Only remember your good telephone manners:

1. When talking on the telephone—speak clearly. Do not shout and take your cigarette out of your mouth.
2. Make sure that your conversation with a busy person is as brief as possible.
3. When calling a friend who does not recognize your voice—do not play: “Guess who?” Announce yourself promptly.
4. When you get a wrong number, do not ask: “What number is this?” It is good manners to ask: “Is this two-three-four-five-six?” If not—apologize.
5. If a wrong number call comes through do not lose your temper. Simply say: “Sorry, wrong number”—and hang up. Do not bang the receiver.
6. Always identify yourself when making a call, especially if you are calling on business., e.g. “This is Mr Volkov. Could I speak to Mr Jones?
7. If you have a visitor do not carry on a long chat while your visitor tries hard to avoid listening to your conversation. The best thing to do is to say you are busy at the moment and… “May I call you back in a little while?” But do not forget to do so.
8. When inviting friends to a party and the like do not ask: “What are you doing Saturday night?” or “Will you be busy on Saturday night?” The correct way is to say: “We’d like to have you over for dinner on Saturday.”
9. Finally, remember: if you make the call, you should terminate it yourself. Do not “drag it out”.

 

• Read the dialogue using correct tenses and dramatize it working in pair.