Effective Phone Communication: Introducing, Receiving, and Ending Calls
Introducing yourself
- Good morning/afternoon/evening. This is Mike at (company name)/Mike from (department name). Could I speak to (person you’re calling for)?
- Good morning/afternoon/evening. This is Mike at (company name)/Mike from (department name). I’m calling about/because…
When the person you want to speak to is unavailable
- Can I leave a message for him/her?
- Could you tell him/her that I called, please?
- Could you ask him/her to call me back, please?
- Okay, thanks. I’ll call back later.
Dealing with bad connections
- I think we have a bad connection. Can I call you back?
- I’m sorry, we have a bad connection. Could you speak a little louder, please?
- I’m sorry, could you repeat that please?
Ending the call
- Thank you very much. Have a good day.
- Thanks for your help. Have a good day.
RECEIVING PHONE CALLS
Answering the phone
- Company ABC, this is Mike. How may I help you?
- Good morning/afternoon, Company ABC. How may I help you?
- City Library. Kim speaking. What can I do for you, Robert?
- Purchasing department, Frank speaking.
Note: If we are taking an external call and talking to a customer, “How may I help you?” is common. If we are taking an internal call, we normally do not say “How may I help you?” For internal calls, saying your name and your department is usually sufficient.
Getting the name of the caller if he/she doesn’t give it to you
- May I have your name please?
- Who am I speaking with?
- May I ask who’s calling?
Responding to a caller’s request
- Sure, let me check on that.
- Let me see if she’s available.
- Sure, one moment please.
Asking someone to wait on the line
- Can I put you on hold for a minute? … Thank you for holding.
- Do you mind holding while I check on that? (or “handle that for you,” “check to see if he’s available,” etc.)
- The line’s free now … I’ll put you through.
- I’ll connect you now / I’m connecting you now.
- Hold the line please.
- Could you hold on please?
- Just a moment please.
Taking a message
- He’s/she’s not available at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?
- He’s/she’s out of the office right now. Can I leave / take a message?
- Would you like to leave a message?
- Could you give him/her a message?
- Could you ask him/her to call me back?
- Could you tell him/her that I called?
- Could you give me your name please?
- Could you spell that please?
- What’s your number please?
- Where can he/she reach you?
- When can he contact you?
- Could you make sure he/she gets my message please?
Dealing with bad connections/wrong numbers
- I’m sorry, we have a bad connection. Could you give me your number and I’ll call you right back?
- I think we have a bad connection. Could you speak a little louder, please?
- The line is very bad … Could you speak up please?
- I’m afraid I can’t hear you.
- Sorry. I didn’t catch that. Could you say that again please?
- I’m sorry, could you repeat that?
- I’m sorry, you have the wrong number.
- (I can’t hear you very well). Shall we hang up and try again?
Ending the call
- Is there anything else I can help you with?… Okay, thanks for calling. Have a great day.
- Is there anything else I can do for you?…Okay, have a good day.
- Okay, I’ll make sure (that) he gets your message. (I’m sure he will get back to you soon.)
Checking that the other person has finished and responding to that
- So, is there anything else (that I can help you with) (today)?
- (Okay then,) was there anything else (that you’d like to ask)?
- No, that’s all (for now), thanks.
- Actually, there is just one more thing….
Smoothly ending a phone call (giving reasons for finishing the call, etc)
- Anyway, it’s been great to talk, but I’m afraid I have a meeting in a few minutes/ I’m afraid I… (so…)
- I’d like to talk more about this but I’m afraid someone has just come in/ I’m afraid… (so…)
- That seems to have covered everything, thanks.
- That’s been really helpful, thanks.
- Okay, I won’t keep you any longer, then.
Talking about the next contact between you/ Talking about the future
- Can I call you back (a little) later?
- Could you possibly call again (a little) later?
- I’ll email you by the end of business today/ later (today)/ in the next couple of days/…
- I’ll check (…) and call you (right) back.
- Could you (possibly) find out and call me back?
- Please call again if you have any other questions/ problems/…
- I look forward to your call.
- Looking forward to hearing from you.
- Speak to you then/ tomorrow/ soon/ later/… (, then).
- See you then/ tomorrow/ soon/ on Monday/ there/… (, then).
Polite and/ or friendly language at the end of the call
- Thanks for (all) your help / for calling / for your call.
- Sorry I couldn’t be more help.
- Have a good evening/ day/ weekend/….
- Bye (for now).