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BEP 21 B – Telephone English: Taking and Leaving a Message

A2, Business English, Customer Service, Telephone English / January 17, 2016

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?

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BEP 21 A – Answering a Telephone Call in English

A2, Business English, Customer Service, Telephone English / January 10, 2016

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on how to start a telephone call in English.

On the telephone, you can’t use your smile or body language to communicate feelings or ideas. You’ve only got your voice! So it’s really important that you know what to say and how to say it at each step of the call. This is especially true of the start of the call. Whether you’re the caller or the receiver, you need to cover the basic information right away so you can move on and deal with the matter at hand.

So, what are those basic things you need to cover at the start of a call? Well, that’s what we’ll learn about in this lesson. If you’re the receiver, you’re going to have to answer the call with a greeting and something to identify yourself and company. On a very simple level, that might sound like “Good morning. This is Jane at City Contractors.” If you’re the caller, you’re also going to have to identify yourself before you ask to speak to someone. Once you’ve identified yourself, what happens next? Well, as the receiver, next you will want to connect the caller with the right person. But before you do that, or before you take a message if the person is not available, you want to find out why the person is calling. So you’ll ask about the purpose of the call.

In today’s dialog, we will learn how the call works from both sides. We’ll hear Claire, who works at a company called Airtronics. She’s answering the call. We’ll also hear Nathan, the caller, who works for Cyclops aircraft. Nathan is calling to talk to someone named George Kline in the contracts department.

Listening Questions

1. What are the different parts of Claire’s first statement when she answers the phone?
2. How does Nathan ask to speak to George Kline?
3. How does Claire ask about the purpose of the call?

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Business English News 35 – Tech Unicorns

Business English, Business English Vocabulary, Business News, IT and Tech / January 3, 2016

Originally named for their rarity, technology “unicorns” are now as common as cats and dogs. As the number of companies hitting the $1bn valuation mark that defines a unicorn skyrockets, it’s easy for investors to be giddy with excitement. But, as City AM points out, these magical creatures may be too good to be true:

The so-called “unicorns” are being targeted by traders betting their share prices will fall. Named because of their mythical, elusive status, the number of unicorns running around has been enough to garner speculation that many of these firms are overvalued.

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Business English Course – BEP 69A: Answering a Phone Call in English

Business English, Functions, Telephone English / December 13, 2015

This is a free preview of a video lesson from our Business English Kickstart Course.

This Business English lesson looks at language for answering the telephone in English. Talking on the telephone in has become an extremely important part of business English. You need to be able to answer a call professionally and create a good image of yourself and your company with only your voice.

The Business English Kickstart Course covers the 3 main Business English Skills of meetings, presentations and talking on the phone with 20 lessons appropriate for intermediate English Speakers. The course is available on the Udemy platform which provides desktop and mobile access for Android and iOS devices.

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BEP 280 – Sales English 2: Understanding Customer Needs

Business English, Sales English / December 6, 2015

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on understanding your customer’s needs in the sales process.

As a salesperson, you can’t just walk up to a customer and start pitching your products. How do you know the customer actually needs your products? And why would the customer buy from you without knowing anything about you? No, the sales process doesn’t start with a pitch. It starts with making your initial approach and getting to know your customers, which is what we looked at in our last lesson.

So what come’s next? Well, once you’ve made your initial approach, you can move on to understanding the customer’s needs. And that’s what we’ll focus on in this lesson, because if you understand what the customer needs, then you can offer them the right solutions.

What are the techniques we can use to learn about a customer’s needs? Well, today we’ll cover several, including how to ask direct questions, present alternatives, and ask about priorities. We’ll also look at proposing the next step and asking about buying authority. Once you’ve done these things, you can move on confidently to matching your solutions to their needs.

In today’s dialog, we’ll rejoin Aaron, a salesperson with a commercial refrigeration company. He’s talking to a couple of potential customers at a new hotel: Eva, the hotel manager, and Robin, the head chef. Eva and Robin have just given Aaron a tour of the hotel’s restaurant, bar, and café. Aaron has learned a bit about their plans and now he wants to know more about their specific needs.

Listening Questions

1. Which area of the hotel does Aaron present an alternative option for?
2. What are Eva and Robin’s two major priorities?
3. What does Aaron say he is going to do next?

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