Unit three On the phone

Objectives Focus Warming up 3.1 I would like to speak to… 3.2 Getting people to do things 3.3 Can I take a massage? 3.4 Planning and making calls Sum-up Assignment

Objectives This unit deals with basic telephoning skills and also receiving and noting down messages. Students are given a chance to discuss and develop their telephone techniques and practice making different kinds of business calls. The functions of requesting, offering help and asking permission are also introduced and practiced in this unit.

Focus Getting in touch with someone on the phone Requesting, offering help and asking permission Taking massages

Students look at the pictures and discuss the questions: Whats happening in each of the photos? What do you enjoy about using the phone? What do you dislike about making phone calls?

3.1 I would like to speak to…

A Discussing (a warm-up activity) Further questions: What are / would be the advantages and disadvantages of videophones in business? What about mobile phones: do you use one or know someone who does? What are the advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones?

B Listening (two unsuccessful phone calls) Listen to the recording What was going wrong? Why did problems and misunderstandings occur?

Suggested answers: Some of the problems in the second attempt were partly the caller's own fault. (For example, she failed to double-check times and dates and she spoke too fast--she's the salesperson, so any misunderstandings are going to reflect badly on her firm.) Most of the problems are due to people talking too quickly, not listening to each other and not checking back that they have understood or been understood correctly.

suggest many other ways in which the calls could be improved Plan your call by making notes beforehand. Talk slowly and clearly. Listen carefully to what the other person says. Note down important details (numbers, spellings, dates and times, etc.)· Check back that you have understood important details correctly. Follow up the call with a fax, or letter, confirming the details.

Role-play the conversation according to the given flowchart

3.2 Getting people to do things

This section covers the functions of: Requesting, and agreeing to or refusing requests; Offering, and accepting or rejecting offers; Asking permission, and giving or refusing permission.

A warming-up discussion What are the people in the pictures might be saying? `May 1 use your car?' `Could you photocopy these for me?' `Would you like me to help you?'

B Listening and speaking Listen to the recording Tick or cross the statements Compare your answers 1.Terry only agrees to do the first two things. 2. Sally accepts all the offers of help except the last two. 3. The host gives his permission for everything except opening the window, smoking and sending a fax (because the machine is out of order).

In this role-play, students will make four separate phone calls. (File 3 and File 34). The massage concerns packaging and printing for the first firms products. There is a story line: each call leads on to another and Euro print gets closer to delivering the finished products to Utopia Products. C

3.3 Can I take a massage?

A Listening Listen to the recording Read the message. What information are missing?

B Message-taking practice Listen to the calls and note down the message. 1.

3.4 Planning and making calls

A We will heat eight people talking about their preparation before making a phone call. Do you agree with them?

B Read this extract from a training manual and then discuss the questions below

C Sit back-to-back Role play the telephone the conversation File

Sum-up In this unit, we learnt: How to make a smooth phone call How to make request, offer help and ask permission Some methods of taking massage. How to prepare a phone call

Assignment: A role-play activity. Practice about taking notes during telephone conversations.