Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to take or leave a message on the telephone in English.
You’ve probably experienced this situation before: someone calls your office and wants to talk to someone who isn’t there. So what do you do? You take a message, of course. But how do you take a message?
Well, it starts with asking the caller if they would actually like to leave a message. Then you’ll get some information, like who the person wants to talk to and what they want to talk about. Also, don’t forget to get the caller’s number so the person can call them back. And it’s a good idea to check back with the caller that you’ve got the information correct, because incorrect messages can cause big problems.
But what if you are the caller and you want to leave a message? Well, you can simply ask if you can do just that. And then you’ll give all the important details, like who you want to talk to, what you want to talk to them about, and your phone number. It’s these techniques and language for taking and leaving messages that we’ll learn today.
In the dialog, we’re going to rejoin a conversation between Claire and Nathan. In our last lesson, we heard Claire answer the phone at a company called Airtronics. Nathan is the caller. He works for Cyclops Aircraft and he’s calling to talk to someone named George Kline. But George isn’t there, so Claire is going to have to take a message for him.
Listening Questions
1. Why is Nathan trying to get in touch with George Kline?
2. What part of the message does Claire repeat back to Nathan?
3. Near the end of the call, what does Claire say she will try to do immediately?
Download: Podcast MP3
