Dialing into Business English: How to

Master Phone Calls at Work

Answering the Phone
Most companies have this standard format to answer the phone:
Good morning, thank you for calling [company name]. This is [your name], how
many I help you?
Pretty easy, dont you think? Lets break it down.

1. Greeting

Good morning
Good afternoon
Good evening

So, which one do you use?

Good morning is the easy one. Is it before 12:00 p.m. (noon)? Always use Good
morning before noon.
Good afternoon is usedyou guessed itafter noon.
The difficult part is choosing when to switch from Good afternoon to Good
evening. Usually, you can switch to Good evening around 5:00 p.m.
To summarize:
Good morning: 12:00 a.m. (midnight) 11:59 a.m.
Good afternoon: 12:00 p.m. (noon) 4:59 p.m.
Good evening: 5:00 p.m. 11:59 p.m.
Hopefully you dont work these long hours!
Remember, this is a business phone call so avoid casual greetings such as hi, hey, whats
up, etc.

2. Thank you
Next, you can simply say Thank you for calling [company name].
Why do you need this step?
This lets people know they have the right number and that have called the correct
business.

3. Your name
Then, state your name. This is helpful for callers to feel more connected to you.
This is [your name].
or
My name is [your name].

4. Offer to help
Lastly, ask how you can assist the caller.
Which is correct?

A. How may I help you?

B. How can I help you?

If you chose A, youre correct! How may I help you is the grammatically correct way
to ask this.
Why? Can refers to ability. Can you help someone? Yes, you have the ability to help
so we dont need to ask the customer this question. May refers to permission or
options. In this case, we are referring to options. There are many ways you may help the
customer, which is why you ask how, meaning in what way.

To summarize:
Step 1: Good morning/ Good afternoon/ Good evening
Step 2: Thank you for calling [company name].
Step 3: This is [your name].
Step 4: How may I help you?
Youre off to a great start. Here are ways to handle the conversation without turning into
a Comcast-like disaster.

Handing the Phone Conversation Like a Pro

Ask their name
To better assist the caller, ask for their name. We do this for two reasons:

First, you can write down the callers name and refer to them by name for the
rest of the conversation. This is very polite and shows great customer service.
Second, if your company has a database of clients or partners, you can quickly
pull up the callers file. This allows you to better understand their previous
experience with your company.

How do you think we should ask for their name?

A. What is your name?

B. May I ask who is calling?
C. Who is this?

If you answered B, you are correct! When answering the company phone, you want to
be very polite.
A. What is your name? can be casual or polite. But at the beginning of a phone
conversation, it is more appropriate to use May I ask your name? or May I ask whos
calling?
B. May I ask whos calling? is the most polite and best choice for this conversation.
C. Who is this? is very casual and considered rude in a professional setting.

Making requests
Sometimes, you have to give seemingly negative information. For instance, perhaps you
cant hear the caller or the connection is fuzzy. How do you tell the listener this?
The connection is very bad. Can you speak a little louder please?
The connection refers to your phone connection. This is when your phone connection is
quiet, cutting in and out (service comes and goes in brief moments), or if there is a
background noise.
Im afraid I cant hear you. Can you repeat that please?
Of course, you are not actually afraid. However, this is a common way for English
speakers to give bad news. Im afraid I cant hear you is more polite than simply
saying I cant hear you.
Can you speak more slowly please?
I have to use this one all the time. I am also learning a second language and I dread
(dont look forward to) answering the phonepeople speak so fast in their native
language!
Can you hold please?
Hold is when we step away from the phone for a moment. This could be because you
need to look something up or refer to another colleague. Either way, always ask the
listener if it is okay to put them on hold.
Do you see a pattern? As a rule, every time you make a request, add a please at the
end. Have you seen Pirates of the Caribbean? As Jack says, this rule is great because
it is simple and easy to remember.
Now, how do we end the phone call?

Ending the Phone Call

If you resolved a problem, thank the caller for calling.
Thank you for calling [company name]. Have a great day!
If you need to contact the caller back, there are a few additional steps.

1. Get the callers contact information

First youll need to ask for their contact information using one of these phrases:

What is the best way to contact you, by phone or email?

May I have your phone number?
May I have your email address?

If they choose phone, ask when the best time to contact them is. Many people prefer to
have phone calls after a certain time in the morning and before a certain time in the
evening (usually before 6:00 p.m.).
If they choose to give you their email address, make sure you spell the letters out to
make sure you have the correct address. Vowels (A, E, I, O, U) are usually heard
correctly but consonants sometimes need to be specified. An easy way to do this is to
use names of cities, movies, celebrities, etc.
For instance, Your email address is tom@gmail.com? T as in Transformers, O, M as in
Movie at gmail dot com?
Note: The symbol @ is read as at and a period . is called dot when saying an
email address aloud.

2. Always repeat their information

Always repeat the callers name and contact information back to them! This is a great
opportunity to make sure you have the correct information.
To confirm, your name is [callers full name] and your phone number is [callers
phone number].
Make sure to get a 10-digit phone number, including the area code. A typical phone
number format in the United States is XXX-XXX-XXXX, where the first three digits
are the area code. Youll also see (XXX) XXX-XXXX, with the area code in parenthesis
before the 7-digit number.
To confirm, your name is [callers full name] and your email address is [callers
email address].

3. State what you will do

Then, tell the caller what you will do.

For instance, I will ask my colleague and call you back tomorrow.
Or, I will submit a report and call you when I hear back from them. It should be no
later than next week.
I always like to give a time (like tomorrow or no later than next week from the
examples) to contact the caller by. This is very professional but also risky. If you
promise to call them tomorrow, make sure you call them tomorrow!
Even if you dont have the answer yet, you can still call and say I apologize; I need a
bit more time to resolve this. May I call you back on Thursday? Give yourself
enough time because if you push the date back once or twice, the caller will likely
become angry.

To summarize:
Thank you for calling [company name]. Have a great day!
OR
Step 1: What is the best way to contact you, by phone or by email?
Step 1.5: May I have your phone number/email address?
Step 2: Just to confirm, your name is [callers full name] and your phone number (or
email address) is [callers phone number or email address].
Step 3: I will [do XX] and contact you [provide a specific day or time of the week].
Simple, right?
So, where does Comcast go wrong?
It wasnt the words, or vocabulary, it was the customer service representatives tone of
voice. He was condescending (talks down to the customer) and overall, did not solve the
problem.
Do not make the same mistake! Many things can go wrong on a phone call. The
connection can be terrible, you could be late for dinner or the customer can be very
upset. But no matter what happens, always be polite and professional on the phone.
Also, smile! Research shows that people can hear the smile in your voice, even over
the phone. These types of everyday interactions are what build relationships between
businesses and their customers and partners.
If youre nervous, dont be! Its completely natural, even for native speakers, to be
nervous on a business call. If it helps, write down a few speaking points (like the steps
listed above) to help calm your nerves and keep you sounding professional.

Joyce Fang grew up all over the United States and currently lives in Yokohama, Japan
working as a freelance business plan writer and graphic designer. She has earned a
Japan-focused MBA and has worked across almost every industry including finance,
hospitality, retail and event management. She loves traveling, food, rugby, hot yoga and
her dog, Gator.