Phone calls in English: call structure and useful phrases

Why are phone calls in English particularly challenging?

Phone calls in English combine several difficulties. You can only hear the other person, often with poor sound quality, an unfamiliar accent and at high speed. At the same time, you have to reply spontaneously, with no slides or notes to point to. That is why even confident speakers often find the phone the hardest part of working in English.

In our courses, we often see that listening and speaking are more demanding than reading, including in customer service, where people spend a great deal of time on the phone.

The answer lies in routines. A phone call almost always follows the same pattern: greeting, stating the reason for the call, clarifying, summarising and saying goodbye. For each stage there are set phrases you can learn to use with confidence. We train these routines in our Business English courses with simulated calls from your own working day.

Answering a call in English and introducing yourself properly

When you answer the phone in English, give a greeting, the company name and your name, and offer help: Good morning, Bauer Logistics, Anna speaking. How can I help? Answering with just your surname, as many people do in Germany, sounds abrupt in English. If someone reaches you on your direct line, Hello, Anna Weber speaking is enough.

A common mistake among German speakers is “Here is Anna Weber”, a literal translation of the German “Hier ist …”. The correct version is “This is Anna Weber” or “Anna Weber speaking”. You will find general phrases for everyday office life in our collection of Business English phrases. Many phone expressions, such as put through, hold on or call back, are phrasal verbs; there is more on these in Phrasal verbs in English (in German).

Making a call: stating your reason clearly in English

When you make a call, introduce yourself with your name and company (Hello, this is Thomas Huber from Huber Maschinenbau.), state your reason in one sentence (I’m calling about our order from last week.) and ask whether it is a convenient time: Is this a good time to talk?

• Hello, this is Thomas Huber from Huber Maschinenbau in Erlangen.
• Could I speak to Ms Clarke, please?
• I’m calling about our order from last week.
• I’m calling to follow up on my email.
• Is this a good time to talk?
• It’ll only take a few minutes.

Preparation is half the battle

Before important calls, write down the three key points you want to clarify and how you will phrase your request. Have order numbers, dates and figures to hand. If you are prepared when you call, you need to improvise less and you sound more confident. If the conversation is about prices or terms, the phrases in our article Negotiating in English will help.

How do you spell things out on the phone in English?

On the phone, ask for clarification with Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that and ask the caller to spell something with Could you spell that for me, please? The international standard is the aviation and NATO spelling alphabet, from Alfa, Bravo and Charlie to Zulu. Names, emails and order numbers cause most errors, so check rather than guess.

The international spelling alphabet

The international standard is the aviation and NATO spelling alphabet: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu. If you live in Germany, you will also hear the German version on the phone (“A wie Anton, B wie Berta”), but it will not help you in English calls.

Letters that are easily confused

These pairs cause particular trouble for German speakers, and for many other learners too:

• E is pronounced [iː], while I is pronounced [aɪ]. Mixing these up is the classic mistake.
• A sounds like [eɪ], R like [ɑː].
• G is pronounced [dʒiː], while J is pronounced [dʒeɪ].
• Y is [waɪ], and Z in British English is [zed].

Numbers and email addresses

In British English, zero in phone numbers is often said as “oh”, and double digits as “double”: 0911 557 = oh nine one one, double five seven. In email addresses, say at for @, dot for the full stop, hyphen or dash for – and underscore for _.

Leaving a message and recording a voicemail greeting in English

A good voicemail message in English is short and complete: give your name and company, the reason for your call and the next step, for example Could you please call me back on …? Say your number slowly and repeat it at the end. Your own voicemail greeting should ask callers for their name, number and a short message.

Template: leaving a voicemail message

Hello, this is Sabine Koch from Koch Elektronik in Fürth. I’m calling about the delivery for order number 4-7-2-1. Could you please call me back on oh nine one one, two three four, five six seven eight? Again, that’s 0911 234 5678. Thanks very much, and have a good day.

Template: your own voicemail greeting

Hello, you’ve reached Sabine Koch at Koch Elektronik. I’m sorry I can’t take your call at the moment. Please leave your name, number and a short message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.

Taking a message for a colleague

• Could I take your name and number, please?
• What’s it regarding?
• I’ll make sure he gets the message.

Difficult calls in English: complaints and connection problems

If the line is bad, say so openly, Sorry, the line’s very bad, and offer to call back: Shall I call you back? With complaints, understanding and clear next steps are what count. First show that you take the problem seriously with I’m sorry to hear that, avoid justifying yourself and give a specific time for calling back.

When the connection is poor

When a customer complains

With complaints, understanding and clear next steps matter most. Avoid justifications at the start and first show that you are taking the problem seriously.

• I’m sorry to hear that.
• I completely understand your frustration.
• Let me look into this for you.
• Could you give me your order number, please?
• I’ll call you back by 3 o’clock with an update.

You will find a lot of vocabulary on deliveries and shipment tracking in our article English for logistics.

Ending a call in English: summarising and saying goodbye

End a call in English with a short summary (So, just to recap, …), a question about any open points (Is there anything else I can help you with?) and a thank-you such as Thanks for your time. Speak to you soon. The summary prevents misunderstandings, and a confirmation by email secures the outcome.

• So, just to recap, …
• I’ll send you a confirmation by email.
• Is there anything else I can help you with?
• Thanks for calling. / Thanks for your time.
• Speak to you soon.

Sample dialogue: clarifying a delivery date

A: Good afternoon, Clarke Components, James speaking.

B: Hello James, this is Lisa Maier from Maier Technik in Germany. I’m calling about our order 5839. Is this a good time?

A: Sure. Let me just pull it up. Yes, I’ve got it here.

B: We were expecting the delivery last Friday, but it hasn’t arrived yet. Could you check the status for me?

A: I’m sorry about that. It looks like the shipment was delayed at the port. It should reach you by Wednesday.

B: OK. So, just to recap: delivery by Wednesday at the latest. Could you send me the tracking number by email?

A: Of course. I’ll send it over this afternoon.

B: Great, thanks for your help, James. Speak soon.

For the written confirmation after the call, you will find templates in our guide Writing emails in English.

Common mistakes on the phone in English and how to practise

Typical mistakes are literal translations, such as Here is Anna Weber instead of This is Anna Weber or I call because of instead of I’m calling about, and requests that sound too blunt, such as Wait a moment. Practise with a cheat sheet of key phrases, note numbers immediately and listen to different accents.

Quick exercise: what do you say?

1. You would like to be put through to Ms Clarke.
2. You did not catch a number.
3. Your colleague is in a meeting.
4. You want to summarise the conversation.

Answers: 1. Could you put me through to Ms Clarke, please? 2. Sorry, I didn’t quite catch the number. Could you repeat it, please? 3. I’m afraid she’s in a meeting at the moment. Can I take a message? 4. So, just to recap, …

Tips for more confidence on the phone

• Keep a cheat sheet with your ten most important phone phrases next to the phone.
• Stand up for important calls. Many people speak more freely and clearly when they do.
• Write numbers and names down immediately and read them back to confirm.
• Practise with listening material in different accents, such as Scottish, Indian or American English.

Training with real-life situations usually brings the biggest gains. In our online Business English training, we simulate customer calls, supplier conversations and complaints, one-to-one or in small groups. For customer service or sales teams, we put together suitable programmes under language courses for companies. If you want to work specifically on your listening skills, you will find ideas in Improving your English listening skills. We are happy to answer your questions via our contact page.

Sources

1. ef.de: germany

Frequently asked questions