(2nd Year Engineering)

Effective
Communication

Telephone Conversation
Telephone Conversation

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Do you have any idea about handling a phone call in the right way? Having knowledge of
making and receiving a phone call as well as handling telephone messages will surely be beneficial
for you. Learn how to do those very well in this unit

Task 1
In small groups, answer the following questions.
1. Have you ever made a phone call?
2. What do you say first?
3. Have you ever received a call?
4. What do you ask the caller?
5. What do you say if the caller wants to speak to
your father but he is not at home?
6. What do you say when you want the caller to leave a message?
Example of phone Conversation
Speaker 1
Speaker 2
Speaker 1
Speaker 2
Speaker 1
Speaker 2
Speaker 1
Speaker 2
Speaker 1
Speaker 2

:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:

hi Rosi, how is going on?

Hey man!cool. you?
good. What about your father?
hes working nowsomething to tellim?
yes, if he can call me back please.
sure!. Ill tellim.
thanks Rosi. Take care!
no problem, you too!
bye!
bye!

Words:
Tellim= tell him
Ill= I will
Task 2
WORDS
call (kkt)
cold (ks)
engaged (ks)
later (ks)
message (kb)

MEANINGS
.............
.............
.............
.............
.............
Study the expressions below.

Do you still remember:

Telephone Conversation

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 how the secretary greets the caller?

what the caller says to inform his/her purpose?
what the secretary says to inform that the one the caller wants to speak to is
not in?
Here are words and expressions usually used in formal telephoning.
To make a call
Greetings (Good morning/afternoon/evening).
May I speak to , please?
Im (your name) from (your companys name)
Im calling about (your purpose)
Could you put me through to Mr/Mrs?
Could I leave a message?
Could you take my message for Mr/Mrs?

To receive a call
Greetings (Good

morning/afternoon/evening)+ name of

Do you want to hold on, or call again

later?

your company.
Can I help you?
Whos calling, please?
May I have your name, please?
Hold on, please.
Im sorry. The line is engaged.
Ill put you through to Mr/Mrs..

May I help you?

Whos speaking , please?
Could I have your number?
Just a moment please.
Sorry, Sir/Maam. The line is busy.

Vocabulary
mouthpiece (kb) : bagian telepon yang diletakkan di dekat mulut

receiver (kb): bagian telepon yang diletakkan di dekat telinga

typewriter (kb): mesin ketik

Task 8
In pairs, study the following dialogue and answer the questions. Then, act it

Telephone Conversation

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out with your partner.

Secretary
: Good morning. Gama Corporation. Can I help you?
Caller
: Good morning. May I speak to Mr Fahrur Assegaf, please?
Secretary
: Whos speaking, please?
Caller
: This is Apryan Siregar of Horasindo Oil Company.
Secretary
: I beg your pardon, Sir.Could you spell your first name, please?
Caller
: Alfa-Papa-Romeo-Yankee-Alfa-November. Thats APRYAN.
Secretary
: Thank you, Mr Apryan Siregar. Just a moment, please.
Caller
: All right.
Secretary
: Im sorry, Sir. Mr Assegaf is in a meeting with the Board now.
Caller
: Thats OK! He is the Headboard. Can I leave a message?
Secretary
: With pleasure, Sir.
Caller
: Please tell him to call me back at 1 p.m. today.
Secretary
: Right, Sir. Could I have your phone number, please?
Caller
: Sure. +62-817-410-4496. Have you got that?
Secretary
: Yes, Sir. +62-817-410-4496. Anything else, Sir?
Caller
: Is Mr Rahmat, his assistant, in?
Secretary
: Im sorry, Sir. He is attending a seminar in Ogan Hotel.Could I take
your message, Sir?
Caller
: Emmplease tell him that Ill come to see him at 9 tomorrow morning.
Secretary
: Right, Sir. Ill give your message.
Caller
: OK. Thank you for your help.
Goodbye.
Secretary
: Youre welcome, Sir. Goodbye.
Answer the following questions. Number one has been done as an example.

1. Who is the caller? (The caller is Mr Apryan Siregar.)

2. Whom does he want to speak to?

3. What does the secretary say to know who is calling?

4. What does she say to clarify the callers name?

5. How does the caller spell his name?

6. What does he say when he wants to leave a message?

7. What does the caller want Mr Assegaf to do?

8. What is his message to Mr Rahmat?

9. What does the secretary say to know the callers phone number?

10.What does she say to end the conversation?

Complete the notes based on the dialogue in Task 8.

Telephone Message
From : ___________________
Day/Date: Monday/21- 4 - 2008
To : ___________________
Time : 9.30 a.m.
Message:
__________________________________________________________________

Telephone Conversation

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__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Taken by __________

2. Hold on, please. Ill see if hes in

b. Fajar Harun of Nusantara Company.

his room.

c. Well, its alright. Could you tell him

3. Im sorry, Sir. Mr Febryan is in a

meeting with the Vice Director. Im

want him to contact me as soon as

afraid, I cant put you through.

possible?

4. Right, Sir. Ill give your message to

d. Good Morning. Could you put me

him.

through to Mr Ari Febryan?

5. Good morning. Cendana Company.

e. Thank you for helping. Goodbye.

Can I help you?

f. Sure. +62 031 345 678. Dont

6. With pleasure, Sir. May I have your

number, please?

Task 9
Rearrange the sentences below to make a good conversation. Then, act it out
with your partner.
A
B
1. Whos calling, please?
a. Yes, please.

Telephone Conversation

that I

forgett o tell him.

Page 4

Task 10
Make calls using the information provided. Take turns with your partner to
play Person A or B. Play one of the situations in front of the class.
1. A: Call Gama Techno. You need to speak to Mr Naruto Razimoto. If he is not there, leave a
message. Use your own name and number.
B: You work for Gama Techno. Mr Razimotos line is engaged at the moment. Ask the caller
to hold on or call again later. Offer the caller to leave a message. Take the callers name and
phone number.
2. A: Call Ancient Gallery. You need to speak to the Marketing Manager. If she/he is notthere,
leave a message that your company wants the price list and the latest catalogue of Ancient
Gallery.
B: You work for the Ancient Gallery. Ask the caller to wait. You need to check if your
Manager is available. Then, you find out that he has just gone out of the office. Offer the
caller to leave a message. Tell the caller that you will give his/her message.

Task 11
Now, based on your friends dialogue, write down the messages on the notes
below.
Telephone Message
From : _______
Day/Date : ______
To : _______
Time : ______
Message:

Telephone Conversation

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___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Taken by

Key Points
1. How to make a call
Greetings (Good
morning/afternoon/evening).
Im (your name) from (your
companys name)
May I speak to , please? Im calling about (your purpose)

2. How to receive a call

Greetings (Good morning/afternoon/evening) + name of your

company.

May I help you? Can I help you?

Whos speaking, please? Whos calling, please?

3. How to spell letters in the aviation alphabet

A Alfa
G Golf
M Mike
R Romeo
W
Whiskey
B Bravo
H Hotel
N
S Sierra
X X-Ray
November
C Charlie
I India
T Tango
O Oscar
Y Yankee
D Delta
J Juliet
U
P Papa
Z Zulu
Uniform
E Echo
K Kilo
Q Quebec
V Victor
F Foxtrot
L Lima

4. How to keep conversation short on the phone

First, we should never ask questions like whats new?
After saying hello, get right to the significant part of the call.
Set a time limit.
Interrupt when the caller pauses and indicate that you have another call coming.
Offer another means of communication for future contact.
End the conversation.

Telephone Conversation

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5. Advisability: should, ought to, had better

Should = ought to

Had better is stronger and more common in speaking than

writing.

6. Asking for and giving advice

Asking for advice

What should I ?

What would you advise me to do?

Can/could you give me some advice on/about.

Extremely formal Well, I would appreciate your advice on .

Could I ask for your/some advice on/about ?

What course of action would you recommend ?

Giving advice
I think you should/ought to .

Why dont you .

If I were you, Id think twice about/before .

vocabulary list

advice (kb) : saran/nasehat

attend (kkt) : menghadiri
board (kb) : Dewan Direksi
call (kb) : panggilan/telepon
call (kkt) : memanggil/menelpon
chat (kki) : mengobrol
company (kb) : perusahaan
conduct (kkt) : melakukan/mengadakan
contact (kkt) : menghubungi
corporation (kb) : perusahaan
engaged (ks) : sibuk
errand (kb) : pekerjaan kantor/rumah
exclaim (kki) : berseru
headboard (kb) : Pimpinan Dewan
Direksi

leisure time (kb) : waktu luang

line (kb) : saluran
message (kb) : pesan
mouthpiece (kb) : bagian telepon yang
diletakkan di dekat mulut
overcome (kkt) : menyelesaikan
(masalah)
receiver (kb) : orang yang menerima
panggilan/penerima
telepon
receiver (kb) : bagian telepon yang
diletakkan di dekat
telinga
respond (kkt) : merespon / menanggapi
response (kb) : respon / tanggapan

Task 12
Read the article and answer the questions.
How to Keep Phone Calls Short

Telephoning is one of the methods by which people are most

likely to speak. Unfortunately, we do not always have much time to spend
on the phone. However, what can we do to face a long-winded talker
a person who makes us impossible to say goodbye?

Telephone Conversation

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Here is some advice we may try to overcome such a problem.

First, we should never ask questions like Whats new? They give the
impression that we have time to chat. After Hello, we ought to get right to
the significant part of the call. We should offer brief responses without
prodding for further information.

Then, we should time our call intelligently. It is important to set a time limit. Start
with, Hi, Ive only got a few minutes, but I wanted to talk to you about or Sorry, Id love to talk
more, but I
only have a couple of minutes before I have to run errands.

Further, as soon as we finish conducting business, interrupt when the caller pauses or
in mid-sentence if necessary and indicate we have another call coming in which we need to take.
Then, offer a pleasantry saying, Thanks for sharing the information with me; I appreciate
your
letting me know; It has been great talking with you.

Otherwise, we might offer another means of communication

for a future contact, such as If theres something else you need,
please call my secretary/fax me a note/send me an email. The caller
will feel he is well-informed about our preferred communication
method, leaving us to respond at our leisure. Finally, end the
conversation. However, it is going to be a wise alternative to use an
answering machine or a voicemail box to screen the calls rather than
avoid the phone completely.

Task 15
Answer the following questions. One has been done as an example.
1. Based on the article, what is the first thing we do to keep the conversation short on the
phone? First, we should never ask questions like Whats new?
2. Why should we never ask questions like Whats new?
3. What is the better thing to do after saying Hello?
4. Why do we have to set a time limit?
5. Mention some expressions in the article that indicate a time limit.
6. When may we interrupt the callers talk?
7. What does the writer mean by a long-winded talker?
8. What might we say to offer the future contact to the caller?
9. What is meant by well-informed?
10. What advice do you find in the article?

DID YOU KNOW TIPS ON MAKING CALLS?

Yes, I have. I was sick of

it. Then, I made the call

Telephone Conversation

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2
2day
2morrow
2nite
4
ASAP
B4
BFN
BTW
CU
CM
CN
CNT
KNW
L8
L8R
LU
MSG
MTG
MU

Telephone Conversation

shorter. I said Sorry, I

have to take another call
coming. See you!
What are they
talking about?
Have you ever been called
by a long-winded talker?

TEXT-MESSAGING GLOSSARY

to
today
tomorrow
tonight
for
as soon
aspossible
before
bye for now
by the way
see you
come
can
cant
know
late
later
love you
message
meeting
miss you

Page 9

OK
PCM
PIX
PLS
R
SND
STN
THNX
TM
TOA
TOD
TQ
NXT
TQVM
WT4
WNT2
XLNT

okey
please call me
pictures
please
are
send
station
thanks
time
time of arrival
time of
departure
thank you
next
thank you very
much
wait for want to
excellent

Task 21
Lets play the SSM (Sending Short Message) Game.
Write messages to your classmates using text-messaging symbols. Take
turns with your classmates to try to read the messages. Tell the messages to
the class. Who gets most messages?
To : ______________________
From : ______________________
Message:
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
task 22
Match the words and expressions in column A with their similar meanings in
column B.
A
B
1. The line is busy.
a. Ill connect you.
2. Would you hold, please?
b. The line is engaged.
3. Ill put you through.
c. One moment, please.
4. A code.
d. An office number.
5. An extension number.
e. Could I have your name, please?
6. Whos calling, please?
f. Im ready.
7. Hold on, please.
g. A country or area number.
8. This is Anna Burns.
h. Is that all, Sir?
9. Go ahead.
i. Could you wait, please?
10. Anything else, Sir?
j. Anna Burns speaking.

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Task 23
Suppose you are on the phone. What do you say in these situations?
1. You want to know who the caller is.
You say, Whos speaking, please?
2. You want the caller to know that you are ready to help.
_________________________________________________________
3. You want the caller to wait for a minute.
_________________________________________________________
4. You want to get the callers number.
_________________________________________________________
5. The caller wants to speak to your manager but he is not in.
_________________________________________________________
6. You want the caller to leave a message.
_________________________________________________________
7. You want to start a short conversation on the phone.
_________________________________________________________
8. You want to interrupt the callers pause.
_________________________________________________________
9. You offer the caller for the future contact.
_________________________________________________________
10. You want to end the phone call.

The name of members group III

1. Rismawati Rante Salu (212 112 094)
2. Weri Karaeng Sembe (213 112 204)
3. Peradika Sarambu (213 112 191)
4. Elia Karaeng (212 112 132)
5. Serly Tangke Langi (212 112 137)
6. Tini Pongtengko (212 112 168)
7. Pebi Lingga (212 112 028)
8. Eka Jerianti (213 112 163)
9. Windia Limbu Mendila (212 112 173)