Business Telephoning

BUSINESS TELEPHONING
Ely Lia
You are probably used to making informal calls to family
and friends. When making calls to companies, however,
some special rules and conventions apply.
General rules When making a formal call, three rules should

influence your choice of words:
 Be brief. Do not waste the receiver’s time.
 Be clear. Explain the background and purpose of your
call.
 Be polite. Recognize the receiver’s point of view.
The most difficult calls to make are calls to people that you do not know.
Usually, the purpose of your call will be to make a request for information or
a meeting. This kind of call can be divided into sections according to the
function each serves:
 Locate the person
 Make request
 Make arrangement
 Close the call
Locate the person
If the person you want to speak answers the call, this part is simple. If the
receiver gives her name when he answers your call, you can skip to the next
stage. If the receiver does not give his name, you can confirm that you have
the right person:
Hello, is that (name)?
More often the number that you have will connect you to an operator or
secretary.
Hello, I’d like to speak to (name), please.

If he is not available, you will need to find out when you can speak to him:
Could you tell me when he will be available?
If the person you are calling has a busy schedule, you may have to call several
times. When you are finally connected, it is best to pretend that this is your
first call. Do not mention how difficult it was to make contact!
Sometimes, you will not know the name of the person who might be able to
help you. In this case, you can state your request and then say:
Could you put me through to someone who might be able to help me?
Make request
Making a request involves three stages: introducing yourself, giving

background, and making the request itself.
Introduce yourself by giving your name and explaining who you are:
My name is (name), I’m a first-year student at Hong Kong University....
If you have been given the receiver's name by someone else, you should also
mention this:
Mr. Chan from Eurasia Products suggested that I call you....

Give the background to your request by explaining why you are making it:
I’m doing a project on work experience and I need to arrange a visit to a

company in your field....
Make your request politely and clearly. Make sure that the receiver knows
exactly what agreeing to your request will involve: how much of her time
will it involve and what will she or her staff will have to do:
I wonder if I could pay a visit to your office for an hour or so sometime in

the next two weeks, to talk to one of your staff about....
Make arrangement
If the person you are calling agrees to your request, it is important to

make a clear arrangement. If you are arranging a meeting, for example,
arrange the time and place and make sure you know where to go and
what to do when you get there. Make a note of all the information so that
you do not need to call back again to find out something you have
missed.
If the person you are calling cannot agree to your request, he may
modify it. Listen carefully and try to fit in with his schedule.
If the person you are calling cannot agree to your request at all, ask if he
knows someone else who can help:
Do you know anyone else who might be able to help me?
Whether the receiver can help you or not, thank her and close the call
politely
Close the call
As the caller, it is your job to close the call when you have got the
information you need. Unless the receiver shows that he wants to talk, it
is not polite to chat once your business is finished. If there is a difficult
silence at the end of the call, it is probably because you are not doing your
job of closing the call. You can do this by confirming the arrangement:
So, I’ll come to your office on Monday at 10....
thanking the receiver,
Thank you very much for your help....
and saying goodbye
Goodbye....
 Making a call
Hello, this is Elisa/ my name is Elisa*
Hello, this is Elisa in the marketing department
 Taking a call
Hello, Elisa speaking.
Hello marketing, Elisa speaking.
This is the Best Boutique, Elisa speaking. How can I help you?
Good morning, Elisa speaking. May I ask who’s calling please?
 Giving the reason

I’d like to talk to [name].
Could/May I speak to [name], please?
I’d like to discuss about ….
I’m calling for …
I want to speak to Mr. Andy. (impolite)
*it is unusual if we say I am Elisa.

 Holding and transferring.
I’ll just put you through. One moment, please.
could you please hold?
Please hold. I’ll put you trough.
wait (impolite)
 Checking whether the receiver has time.

Is this a good time for you to talk?
Do you have time? Should I call back another time?
Did I catch you at a bad time?
 Dealing with technical problems

I’m sorry, the connection’s really bad.
I can hardly hear you.
Can I call you back on my landline?
 Taking a message (menerima pesan)
[name] is not in today. Do you want to leave a message?
I’ll make sure [name] gets the message.
 Leaving a message (meninggalkan pesan)

Would you mind taking a message?
I’d like to leave [name] a message.
 Ending a call (menutup telepon)

Give my regards to [name].
Thank you very much for your help.
Thank you for calling.
It was great to hear from you.
We’ll catch up soon.
Thank you for your time.
Have a great weekend.
Have a great day.

Business Telephoning

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BUSINESS TELEPHONING

General rules When making a formal call, three rules should

Hello, is that (name)?

Hello, I’d like to speak to (name), please.

Could you tell me when he will be available?

Making a request involves three stages: introducing yourself, giving

My name is (name), I’m a first-year student at Hong Kong University....

Mr. Chan from Eurasia Products suggested that I call you....

I’m doing a project on work experience and I need to arrange a visit to a

I wonder if I could pay a visit to your office for an hour or so sometime in

If the person you are calling agrees to your request, it is important to

Do you know anyone else who might be able to help me?

So, I’ll come to your office on Monday at 10....

thanking the receiver,

Thank you very much for your help....

and saying goodbye

 Giving the reason

*it is unusual if we say I am Elisa.

 Checking whether the receiver has time.

 Dealing with technical problems

 Leaving a message (meninggalkan pesan)

 Ending a call (menutup telepon)

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