Business calls: making polite requests and taking messages
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Think about these questions before reading. Share your ideas with a partner.
- In a professional setting, what factors influence your decision to make a phone call versus sending an email or an instant message?
- Describe a time you had a miscommunication or a difficult experience during a phone call. What happened and what did you learn from it?
- How might the expectations for politeness during a business phone call differ between your culture and what you've observed in English-speaking cultures?
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A Bad Connection
Listen to the dialogue. Notice how the vocabulary and grammar from the lesson are used.
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Answer these questions in your own words. Support your answers with evidence from the article.
01According to the article, what is the main grammar topic of the lesson and why is it important for professional communication?
Sample answerThe main grammar topic is using modal verbs like 'could' and 'would' for making polite requests. It's important because it helps speakers sound more formal and less direct in a professional setting.
02What are some examples of the specific B2-level vocabulary that the lesson introduces?
Sample answerThe lesson introduces several terms, including the noun phrase 'quarterly report', the phrasal verb 'get hold of', and adjectives like 'engaged' and 'concerned'.
03How does the lesson help students apply their learning to real-world situations?
Sample answerIt does this by providing a section with practical phrases for managing phone calls and then having students participate in a role-play activity to practice using the new language in a realistic scenario.
04In what way does the lesson plan to expand students' vocabulary beyond the main audio material?
Sample answerThe article mentions a specific 'vocabulary expansion' section that introduces advanced expressions related to business calls that are not included in the original source audio.
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Key vocabulary for business calls
Vocabulary
These expressions will help you handle professional phone calls more effectively.
Examples
To touch base — to make brief contact with someone, often to get or give an update.
Usage: A common, slightly informal business idiom. You can say, 'I'm just calling to touch base about the upcoming meeting.'
To follow up on — to take further action connected with something that happened earlier.
Usage: Very common in professional contexts. Often used as 'I'm calling to follow up on our conversation' or 'I'll follow up with an email.'
To get cut off — to have a phone call end suddenly and unexpectedly.
Usage: A neutral phrase for a common technical problem. You can say, 'Sorry, I think we got cut off. What were you saying?'
To liaise with — to communicate and cooperate with another person or department to get a job done.
Usage: A formal verb common in business settings. For example, 'You'll need to liaise with the sales team to get the final figures.'
To have a bad connection — to experience poor sound quality during a call, making it hard to hear.
Usage: A polite way to explain a technical issue. You can say, 'I'm afraid we have a bad connection. Could you speak up a little?'
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Handling problems on the phone
Sometimes things go wrong on a call. What's the best way to handle it?
Match the situation on the left with the polite phrase on the right.
Drag or click to match
Definitions
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Grammar: reported questions and requests
Grammar
When you take a message during a business call, you often need to report what the other person said. We use reported speech to do this, changing direct questions and requests into statements. This is essential for accurately passing on information to colleagues.
Examples
Direct: "When will the quarterly report be ready?" -> Reported: "He asked when the quarterly report would be ready."
Notice the direct question becomes a statement. The word order changes (subject before verb) and the modal verb 'will' shifts to 'would'.
Direct: "Could you please call me back before 5 pm?" -> Reported: "She asked me to call her back before 5 pm."
For polite requests, we often use the structure 'ask + object + to-infinitive'. This is more concise than reporting the exact words.
Direct: "Is the marketing director in the office today?" -> Reported: "The caller wanted to know if the marketing director was in the office today."
For 'yes/no' questions, we introduce the reported clause with 'if' or 'whether' and the verb tense shifts back (e.g., 'is' becomes 'was').
Key points
- In reported questions, use statement word order (subject + verb), not question inversion.
- For requests, the most common structure is 'ask + person + to + verb'.
- Remember to change pronouns, time expressions, and verb tenses where necessary.
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Find the mistake
Read the sentences below, which are all related to business phone calls. Each one has a single error.
Each sentence contains one error. Find and correct it.
01I'm calling to follow up for the email I sent yesterday about the quarterly report.
Corrected version
I'm calling to follow up for on the email I sent yesterday about the quarterly report.
02Would you mind to hold the line for a moment while I check for you?
Corrected version
Would you mind to hold holding the line for a moment while I check for you?
03He asked me if I can call him back this afternoon as he's in meetings all morning.
Corrected version
He asked me if I can could call him back this afternoon as he's in meetings all morning.
04I'm sorry, we seem to have a weak connection and you keep breaking up.
Corrected version
I'm sorry, we seem to have a weak bad connection and you keep breaking up.
05We need to get some clarify on the project timeline before we can proceed.
Corrected version
We need to get some clarify clarification on the project timeline before we can proceed.
06My manager asked me to liaise on the marketing team to finalise the campaign details.
Corrected version
My manager asked me to liaise on with the marketing team to finalise the campaign details.
07I'm afraid Mr. Jones is not available; he has just gone out for a meeting.
Corrected version
I'm afraid Mr. Jones is not available; he has just gone out for to a meeting.
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Useful phrases: dealing with technical issues on a call
Vocabulary
Bad connections and background noise can disrupt important business calls. Use these phrases to politely manage technical problems and keep the conversation on track.
Examples
Sorry to interrupt, but you're breaking up a little. — politely flagging a sound issue.
Register: neutral. Use this as soon as you can't hear the other person clearly. A more formal alternative is, 'I'm sorry, the connection seems to be poor.'
I'm afraid I didn't catch that last part. Could you say it again? — asking for repetition.
Register: neutral/formal. 'I'm afraid' softens the phrase, making it more polite than just saying 'What?' or 'I can't hear you.'
The connection seems a bit unstable. Shall we try turning off our video? — suggesting a solution.
Register: neutral/formal. A common and practical suggestion for improving the quality of a video call.
It sounds like we have a really bad line. Would you mind if I called you right back? — proposing to restart the call.
Register: neutral/formal. This shows you're taking initiative to fix the problem. It's often the quickest solution.
Apologies, I think there's some background noise on my end. Let me just mute myself. — taking responsibility for a problem.
Register: neutral/formal. Use this to show you are aware of a disruption you are causing and are fixing it. It's good etiquette, especially on group calls.
Is that any better? — checking if the solution worked.
Register: neutral. A short and simple way to check if the other person can hear you clearly after you've made an adjustment (e.g., called back, moved location).
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Navigating business calls
Read the passage about common situations during business phone calls.
Fill in each blank with the correct word or phrase from the word bank.
Word bank
When making business calls, it's often a good idea to with a colleague beforehand to ensure you both have the same information. It's also professional to any actions agreed during the call by sending a summary email. Sometimes, technical issues can be a real problem; if you , you might have to call back immediately. It's particularly frustrating if you while trying to finalise an important deal. If the call is about a project involving multiple departments, you'll need to with the relevant teams to keep everyone updated.
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Discuss these questions with a partner. Try to use vocabulary from the lesson.
- Some argue that with modern tools like Slack and email, scheduling a call just 'to touch base' is an inefficient waste of time. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
- Think about your professional environment. How common is it for people from different departments to 'liaise with' each other directly by phone? Describe the typical communication process in your workplace or country.
- Imagine you need to 'follow up on' an urgent issue, but you 'have a bad connection' with the person and 'get cut off'. What would be your immediate next steps to resolve the situation effectively?