Эссе на тему: "Taking and giving messages"

Taking and giving messages – титульный лист
Introduction……………………………………………………………………….3
Body……………………………………………………………………………….4
Conclusion……………………………………………........................................8
Introduction
It is a common knowledge that every person in the world has at some point of their life taken and given messages. It is practically impossible to avoid while living in the society of people. Even those people who rarely have to make or receive phone calls themselves can or must from time to time take down messages for the people who the caller really wants to speak to. And this is why it is very important to know how to communicate properly while being on the phone in order not to seem rude or angry. At the same time, it is also essential to get and give the information right and not to mess something up because it can be vital and even the lives of people can depend on this data.
Of course, the aforementioned is obviously a challenge for everyone who is not used to talking to the people on the phone. It might be hard for the receiver, but it can also be tricky for the person phoning, because they might have prepared for a completely different conversation with the person who they actually wanted to speak to.
It is not needed to say that this process can become even harder when you and your interlocutor speak absolutely different languages. It is completely horrifying, stressful and nervous when people of different nations try to deliver the necessary information on the phone because being face-to-face could provide them with the possibilities of showing the data using the body language. But a talk on the phone doesn’t give them these opportunities and they have to deal with language differences, bad hearing, accent peculiarities and interrupted connection. So you have to be extra attentive in this case and level up the level of your language and hearing (though it will not protect you from this type of conversational mistakes).
Luckily, there is a great advantage in talking on the phone - leaving messages for someone who isn’t there is usually a fairly predictable conversation, with a fixed format and a limited set of phrases that you can learn and prepare to use. This essay might help you to go through such dictating and taking dictation conversations from beginning to end, looking at the language used by both the caller and receiver. There is also some advice on typical mistakes to avoid.
Body
So, you have called someone and found out that the person you actually need is not there. Or even when you already know that someone is not there, the best way into leaving a message is usually to start by asking for the person who you wanted to speak to, with phrases like:
- Caller: “Hello. Can/ Could I speak to…, please?”
- Caller: “Good morning. Can/ Could you put me through to…, please?”
- Caller: “Good afternoon. Can/ Could you connect me to…, please?”
There are also more informal versions like “Is… there?” but “I want to speak to…” and “Please connect me/ put me through to…” are too pushy and therefore rude even in casual situations. It is better not to use them unless you are friends with the person you are talking to but we already know it is not the situation.
There is no need to give your name at this point. This is because the receiver will want to write your name down later when you leave a message, and so saying it now will mean they will have to ask you to repeat it later. And you do not want to put yourself in this awkward situation. Perhaps the only time when you might want to give your name at this early stage is when you know the person who answered the phone well enough that some friendly language and/ or small talk is necessary before asking to speak to someone else. A typical exchange of this kind might be:
- Receiver: “Good morning. ABC Limited. Harold Harris speaking. How can I help you?"
- Caller: “Hi Harry. This is Alex.”
- Receiver: “Hi Alex. How’s it going?”
- Caller: “Pretty good, thanks. How about you? How was your big presentation?”
- Receiver: “Hmmm, could have been better to be honest. The clients were very nice about it, though. So/ Well/ Anyway/ Well then/ So then, what can I do for you today?”
- Caller: “I’m calling because I need to speak to someone about the meeting next week/ I’m phoning about the meeting next week. Is Geena around?”
If the receiver doesn’t help move towards getting down to business in this way, the caller can do it with transitions phrases (“Anyway/ So/…,…”) then asking to speak to someone. If actual small talk isn’t necessary, this can be done straight after a friendly greeting and saying who you are, something like:
- Receiver: “Good morning. ABC Limited. Harold Harris speaking. How can I help you?”
- Caller: “Hi Harry. This is Alex. Is Geena there?”
- Receiver: “Oh, hi Alex. ….”
Quite often the person answering the phone doesn’t know if the person who the caller wants to speak to is there or not, so they will probably say something like:
- Receiver: “Of course. Just a moment please. I’ll just check if he’s available.”
- Receiver: “Okay. Please hold (the line). I’ll put you through to her now.”
When it comes to telling the caller that someone isn’t there, the receiver should explain as politely and in as much detail as possible why that person isn’t available to speak, with phrases like:
- Receiver: “I’m afraid he’s on another line/ his line is busy/ he’s not answering his phone.”
- Receiver: “I’m sorry but she’s meeting a client/ in a meeting with…/ away from her desk/ out of the office/ out of the country/ flying to New York/ on a business trip/ not in today/ …”
- Receiver: “Sorry, he doesn’t work on Fridays.”
General and vague explanations like “He is not available”, “He’s not here” and “She’s out” are not considered polite in English.
After giving the bad news about someone not being there, the receiver should then go straight on to offer to take a message with phrases like:
- Receiver: “…Can I take a message?”
- Receiver: “…Would you like to leave a message?”
- Receiver: “…If I can take your name and number, I’ll ask him to call you back.”
“Can I take your message?” and “What is your message?” are not correct things to say, because there might not be a message and you don’t want to pressure them into giving you one if they don’t want to! “Shall I tell him you called?” is possible but can suggest that you aren’t really volunteering to take and pass on any more complex messages!
If the receiver doesn’t offer, you can ask to leave a message with phrases like
- Caller: “Can/ Could I leave a message?”
- Caller: “Can/ Could you take a message?”
- Caller: “Can/ Could you ask him to call me back?”
- Caller: “Can/ Could you tell her I called?”
“Please + verb” (“Please + take/ ask/ tell…”) is again not polite, because it would be a command rather than a request. “Would you + take/ ask/ tell…?” is more polite, but is still a command and so is rarely suitable. There is a similar problem with “Can you tell him to call me back?”, which would mean “He has to call me back”.
It is rarely possible to refuse a request to leave a message, so the receiver will almost certainly reply with a positive answer like:
- Receiver: “Of course. What would you like me to tell him?”
- Receiver: “Of course. If you can tell me your name and number, I’ll make sure he calls you back as soon as possible.”
- Receiver: “Of course. Please go ahead.”
- Receiver: “Of course. Just a moment please while I find a pen and some paper. Okay, got it now. Please go ahead.”
- Receiver: “Of course. (No problem.) Does she have your number?”
More casual options are “Sure” instead of “Of course” and “Please hold on” instead of “Just a moment”.
Although it’s not recommended, the caller might sometimes get straight into a phrase for giving messages like “Can you tell her that I need…?” without a more general “Can I leave a message?” phrase first. In such a case, the receiver might have to ask them to wait with a phrase like:
- Receiver: “I’m sorry. Just a moment. I’ll write that down for her.”
- Receiver: “Okay. Just a second. I’ll get a pen and some paper and note that down for her.”
- Receiver: “Sorry. Just a minute. Let me make a note of that so I can pass your message onto her.”
Phrases for actually leaving the message include:
- Caller: “Can you tell her that…?”
- Caller: “Can you ask her to…?”
- Caller: “My name/ (home/ office/ mobile/ cellphone) number/ email address/ postal address/ … is… (and… is…)”
- Caller: “The zip code/ postal code/ international dialling code/ invoice number/ order number/ product number/… is…”
- Caller: “I think she already has my number, but just in case it’s….”
Again, “Can you tell her to…?” is not suitable for anything apart from the most aggressive messages, so “Can you ask him to…?” is the only possibility for passing on requests like “… send me…?” and “… email me about…?”
If there is anything about what is being dictated which is likely to be difficult to understand or write down, the caller can help by giving more details with phrases like:
- Caller: “It’s spelt…”
- Caller: “That’s written with a colon/ a capital letter/ a capital…/ brackets around…”
- Caller: “You need a hyphen/ dash/ (forward) slash/ apostrophe/ underscore/ dot/ point/ full stop/ period/ space/ comma/ colon/ new line/… between… and…”
- Caller: “That’s B as in banana”/ “That’s… as in…”
- Caller: “It’s all one word (with no punctuation).”
Conclusion
Talking on the telephone can be one of the biggest stumbling blocks when trying to communicate in a foreign language. It is always much easier when you are face-to-face with the person because you can have the benefit of observing body language, reading his/her lips, as well as being able to hear what he/she is saying more easily. On the telephone, you have to be extra sharp with your listening skills, and even clearer with your language.
Doing business by telephone, and leaving a message for a customer or colleague with another staff member takes some getting used to. It is best to be prepared with exactly what you want to ask by having a memo in front of you. This is so you don’t forget crucial information. Often the person answering will have already identified him/herself so you will need to ask for the person directly.
Always identify yourself and your organization early on in the exchange. This is a courtesy you afford to the person answering the telephone. A good message taker will be listening carefully and be jotting down the information you are giving. This way, he/she can pass on a clear and accurate message later on.
A rule of thumb is always to spell your name for the person taking the message. As demonstrated in the lesson, this custom makes taking the message much easier. It avoids confusion and potential mistakes in the details. Also, if the person doesn’t offer to repeat the number you give, ask him/her politely to repeat the number back to you to make sure it is correct.
Finally, don’t be shy to ask someone to either slow down their speech or to repeat things that you don’t understand. Another disadvantage of doing business by phone is that the other person doesn’t have the benefit of seeing you face-to-face to gauge you understanding. It is perfectly acceptable to say, “I’m sorry, could you please repeat that?” or “I’m having trouble understanding, could you please speak more slowly?”The telephone is indeed your friend. The sooner you become proficient in speaking in English on the telephone, the more professional you will appear to those with whom you are doing business.