If you use the telephone in English at work, you know your job is to be professional. However, speaking in English is already challenging. And doing it on the phone it’s stressful! When we speak face-to-face, we can use facial expressions and body language to help us understand. But on the phone, we only have our voice.
This means clear communication is essential. Today I want to share 9 essential tips to help make speaking on the telephone in English easier.
And I want to help you avoid some common mistakes. Do Prepare Ahead Do you talk about the same thing again and again when you use English on the telephone at work? For example: do you respond to the same customer complaints often? Or do you provide account information to clients?
If so, take a little time now to write down what you would like to say in English. When you write down what you want to say, you can: • Think about the words and sentences you want to use • Make sure what you say in English is correct • Practice the sentences again and again so you can remember them easily. Do Speak Clearly Have you ever spoken to someone on the phone who spoke so softly you that you couldn’t hear them? Was it frustrating? Often when we feel nervous or uncomfortable, we speak softly or quietly. This can be very challenging for others on the telephone. To improve your ability to speak clearly, practice!
Practicing what to say on the telephone will help you to develop confidence and become comfortable with the words and sounds in English. A GREAT way to do this is to record yourself and listen to yourself speak. Use your smartphone or laptop to record yourself. It is scary the first time but it is 100% effective in helping you improve your spoken English.
Present Indefinite Tense – Examples Here some more examples of present indefinite tense that help you memorized this lesson much better. Past tense urdu to english translation.
Telephone English Phrases – Formal Conversation From these conversations, we can learn phrases for beginning a phone call, taking and leaving messages, checking and clarifying information, and finishing a phone call. Telephone English Phrases – Formal Conversation From these conversations, we can learn phrases for beginning a phone call, taking and leaving messages, checking and clarifying information, and finishing a phone call.
It will help you: • Perfect what you want to say • Improve your pronunciation • Correct grammar mistakes • Become comfortable with your voice in English. Do Ask to Put Someone on Hold If you’re speaking to someone but you need a few moments to review their account information, it is best to briefly put someone on hold. Or maybe you need a moment to: • answer another call • talk to a colleague • take a moment to think about what you want to say in English These are all good reasons to put someone on hold. But it’s important to ask first. You can do that by simply saying: • Could you hold for a moment? • Do you mind holding for a moment? • May I put you on hold?
Do Show You’re Listening Have you heard your English-speaking colleagues say things like: • Hmmm • Yeah • Oh, I see • Right. • Exactly • Mmmmm • Uh huh On the telephone, we can’t see if the other person is listening to us. When someone is very quiet on the phone, we don’t know if they are listening.
Maybe the listener is looking at her Facebook page or reading the newspaper! Don’t be afraid to try using these words and sounds to show you are listening on the telephone. If you feel nervous using them, try practicing them out loud first. Do Repeat Important Details Do you sometimes write notes during a phone call? For example, do you need to write an important date, time, phone number, name, or detail? Never be afraid to repeat this information to make sure it’s correct.
It’s always professional and appropriate to do this. The person giving you the information will be very happy to know the correct information will be delivered. To do this politely, simply use one of these expressions: • Great. I’d like to repeat that back to you to make sure it’s correct. • Can I repeat that back to you?