Phone Role Play

Hi there.

I’m glad to see you’re back.

We are at our final lesson in this module.

In this lesson, we’ll practice the language and pronunciation skills that we learned in our previous lessons and apply them to a variety of specific scenarios or situations that you might actually have through phone roleplay.

As I mentioned in a previous lesson, we use phones today in many different ways than in the past and may actually speak on them less and less.

How much do you talk on the phone today for business?

Whether you talk less than an hour or for several hours throughout the day, the phone conversation is still a very valuable business tool.

Unlike texting or emailing, it is direct and personal.

Often, it can be the fastest way to answer questions, make a request, or solve a problem.

There’s no waiting involved.

In addition, phone calls tell your listener that you’re really interested in them.

Interested enough to take the time to call and talk to them.

Also, many people prefer to discuss more serious issues or more personal ones on the phone.

There’s another part of phone conversations that make them especially valuable, and that’s the message you give your listener just with the tone of your voice.

Like body language which we discussed in modules one and two, tone of voice gives lots of information about you to your listener.

It lets them know how you feel about something or about them.

For examples, tone of voice lets your listener here your smile.

Tone of voice shows you’re agreeable, friendly, and helpful.

Like body language, our tone of voice actually tells our listeners more than what we say.

If we don’t get the chance to talk with a person, voicemail makes it easy to leave a complete and clear message and allows listeners to hear our tone as well as our words.

Since we still use the phone for many work in business transactions, it’s important to feel comfortable and competent while on the phone.

Let’s think about our first scenario.

In this situation, a customer calls to place an order and a salesperson responds.

Listen carefully to how the speakers clarify some critical information.

Hello, Phone Orders International.

This is Jan.

How may I help you?

Hello, this is Andy Ramos.

I’d like to place an order.

Certainly.

What would you like to order?

I’d like 15 of product 6016.

I’m sorry, did you say 50?

Which product number?

No, I’d like 15, that’s one, five.

The product number is 6-0-1-6.

Thank you.

I’ve got it now.

You’d like 15 of Product 6016.

Now, what’s your full name and address?

Will Andy received his order?

Yes.

It’s better to clarify and repeat than to get the information wrong.

Remember, that positive tone of voice, signals a positive message to your listener.

In this next scenario, a customer calls for more information.

Listen carefully for the speaker’s response to an unexpected event.

Hello.

Good morning.

This is Suzi Lee

I heard about your business from a friend.

Could you give me more information?

Certainly.

What would you like to know?

I’d like to find out a little bit more about your company.

Miss Lee?

Yes?

Excuse me

I didn’t catch what you said.

Could you say it again please?

Of course.

As I was saying.

Again, a quick requests for clarification solves the problem and saves the call.

In this next scenario, a worker calls his manager to ask for help with a problem at work.

Hi Michelle.

This is Jeff.

Hi Jeff.

What’s going on?

Actually, I’m having a problem with one of my team members.

Could you give me some advice?

Certainly.

Thanks so much.

I really appreciate your help with this.

Since you’ve been out of town, this is what’s been going on.

In situations like that one, having a phone conversation rather than just sending a text or email, can make it easier to discuss a sensitive or difficult topic.

Let’s quickly review what we did in this module.

In lesson one, we looked at phone language, and in lesson two, how to pronounce keywords and numbers.

In this final lesson, we practice those points through role-play to better prepare you for different situations.

Before you move into your assignment for this week, think about some situations that you’ve had in your own business exchanges.

How did they go?

Did you say the right things with the right tone?

If you are using your first language, how would you say the same sentences in English?

If you can, write up a dialog as you’ve seen in this lesson and see if you’re using the right type of language for each situation.

Phone role-play is a great way to practice these scenarios in English.

With practice, every one of them will help you to communicate your message and reach your speaking goals.

See you in our next module.