If you are the kind of person who needs to answer or make phone calls in English and you feel anxious every time you are about to pick up the phone, these 30 useful phrases will definitely help you to relax the next time you need to use English to communicate with clients on the phone.
First things first:
Why don’t you need to feel anxious when you speak English on the phone?
The speaker isn’t there to judge you, they need your help, and they need something from you so do not panic the moment you need to answer a phone call in English.
Making pauses is perfectly fine, asking for repetition is sometimes necessary, and being kind and polite is the superpower you will use to build trust with the person who is talking to you on the other side.
How to answer the phone
1. Good morning/afternoon, English and Spanish Today. Daiana speaking. How can I help you?
2Hello, you’ve reached English and Spanish Today. This is Daiana speaking. How may I help you?
Connect the caller
3. Please hold on while I try to connect you.
4.I’ll put you through.
Ask the caller to wait
5. Can I put you on hold?
6. Just bear with me for a moment.
Ask for information
7. Can you give me your name/surname/phone number?
8. What’s it in connection with?
Take a message
9. Would you like to leave a message?
10. I could take a message if you want.
Promise action
11. I’ll make sure Ms. Lopez gets your message.
12. I’ll tell him as soon as he gets back to work.
When you don’t understand
13. I’m afraid I don’t understand. Do you mind saying that again, please?
14. Could you speak more slowly, please?
To clarify
15. What do you mean by…?
16. So, you mean (repeat the message using your own words)?
Ask for repetition
17. Could you say that again, please?
18. Oh, I’m afraid I didn’t catch that.
19. Would you mind saying that again for me?
Technical problems
20. It’s a really bad line. You keep breaking up, do you mind calling again?
21. It’s very noisy in here. Give me a minute and I’ll find somewhere else quieter.
22. My battery is very low. I’m afraid I’ll have to call you later.
Make a complaint
23. There seems to be a problem with…
24. We still haven’t received the…
25. There’s a fault with the…
Promise action
26. I’ll look into it and get back to you as soon as possible.
27. I’ll make sure that…
28. I’ll call you back by the end of the week.
End a conversation
29. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
30. Thanks for calling, have a nice day.
I’m sure you can use most of these phrases in different contexts at work. If you’d like further examples just leave a comment with your question and I’ll answer it!
Still have trouble communicating in English at work? Check out my Business English courses and if you’d like professional advice on how to unleash your full potential in English, book your FREE session to discuss your needs and get to know each other.
