Telephone communication

I. Study the list of topical vocabulary to avoid the difficulties in understanding the text of this unit. Consult a dictionary to pronounce the words correctly.

Directory _n – телефонный справочник

engaged _adj – занят (о телефоне, линии)

feedback _n – обратная связь

get through _{ph v} – дозвониться

hang up _{ph v} – положить трубку

receiver _n – зд. Телефонная трубка

toll-free call – бесплатный звонок

II. Read and translate into Russian the following international words and word combinations. Make up sentences using them.

Colleague, partner, to finish, to be interested in, civilized, office, service, ambulance, police, accurate, detail, date, alphabet, figure, separately, zero, double, speaker, tone, conflict, to monitor, normally, reason, nonverbal, to show, to control, emotion, minimize, potential, organization.

III. Read and translate the text, say what its main points are.

TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION

The telephone is a necessary means of communication in business.

When you need to telephone your colleague or partner (or call him, ring him, give him a ring), you dial his phone number which can be found in the directory. The phone will ring, and your colleague will answer it by picking up the receiver. If he is busy he may ask you to call back later. If he is already on the phone when you call him, his number is engaged (busy – A. E.) and you cannot get through. When he finishes speaking to you, he should hang up.

Many telephone numbers – mostly related to businesses or governmental offices – are prefixed by 800. These numbers provide free customer service because many companies are interested in getting new customers. In most civilized countries emergency numbers (ambulance, police, fire) are also toll-free calls. (To place an emergency telephone call in the USA, for example, you should dial 911 or 0.)

Making a telephone call is not always easy, especially if you do not know the person on the other end of the line very well. Phone messages must be accurate and complete. Taking them demands both writing and listening skills particularly when a caller is speaking quickly.

Asking callers to repeat a message can help, and there is really no need to be embarrassed about it. Even people who have spoken a language all their lives ask each other to repeat things.

Example of the message

To: Jason Bennet. 21 Oct.

Message: Mr. Anthony Hole called from Ontario, Canada. Call him today before 6 p. m. or any time tomorrow at 535 42 34 about rearrangements for meeting.

Message taken by: Helen Green.

Completing telephone messages usually includes important details such as names, dates, telephone numbers. When spelling names or words over the telephone in English you need to know well the British telephone alphabet * – the list of easily distinguishable words, each representing a letter of the alphabet. When pronouncing telephone number, you should call out each figure separately: 587843 – five-eight-seven-eight-four-three. For zero you read “ou”. If a figure is used twice in a number, you use the word “double”, for example, 551273 – double five-one-two-seven –three, 8888 – double eight-double eight, 333564 – double three-three-five-six-four.

Making requests on the telephone, English speakers show politeness in several ways. Speaking with a friendly tone of voice usually does a trick. Sometimes there are even conflicts related to tone. They tend to occur more often in telephone communication than in face-to-face conversations. When using the telephone, many people do not care to monitor their tone and often express irritation in their voice that they would normally try to avoid when speaking face-to-face. There may be several reasons for this. Telephone conversation is less personal than face-to-face one. Since we cannot get nonverbal feedback from the person we are talking to, we may tend to express our displeasure more openly on the phone. This shows how important controlling tone and emotions are in minimizing conflicts with colleagues, potential customers, or people in other organization.

* British telephone alphabet

A – for Andrew B – for Benjamin C – for Charlie D – for David E – for Edward F – for Frederick G – for George H – for Harry I – for Isaac

J – for Jack K – for King L – for Lucy M – for Mary N – for Nelly O – for Oliver P – for Peter Q – for Queen R – for Robert

S – for Sugar T – for Tommy U – for Unde V – for Victory W – for William X – for Xmas Y – for Yellow Z – for Zebra