Add extra language to each of the sentences below. Use expressions from the box.

someone in I’m afraid just at the moment to leave me to take Was there Сan you back as soon as I can a little This is the line terribly to him please

1. ______________ Jane speaking.

2. Can I speak to ________________ your marketing department please?

3. I’ll _____________ check if he’s available.

4. __________________hold __________________________, please?

5. Mr. Thatcher is in a meeting _____________________.

6. Would you like ____________________________ a message?

7. I’ll pass your message on ___________________________.

8. __________________________ anything else?

9. I’m sorry; __________________________ I didn’t catch your name?

10. I’m _______________________ sorry.

11. Can I check that ______________________?

12. I will get back to you _________________________.

13. Can you speak _____________________ louder, please?

11. a) When you call a company sometimes you may hear a voicemail if the person you want to speak to is not there:

- You’re through to the voice mail of James Cassidy. I’m not at my desk right now, but leave a message. I’ll get right back to you. To leave a message, press 1. To speak the operator, please hold.

After you leave your message you may hear this:

- To listen to your message, press 2.

After you listen to your message you may hear this:

- If you’d like to change your message, press3. If you’d like to erase your message, press 4. Otherwise, please hang up.

v Do you like recorded information, or do you prefer to talk to a real person?

b) Read Annelise Schmidt's voicemail message and correct the nine mistakes in it.

Hi James, this is Annelise calling out of Sprenger Verlag in Hamburg. It's very difficult to get hold to you. I phoned to you earlier, but your telephone central placed me through to the bad telephone. Anyway, I'm calling to you to discuss the contract we were talking about in Frankfurt. I'll call further later or perhaps you'd like to ring to me here in Hamburg on 00 49 40 789 1357. Bye for now.

c) Do you use voicemail yourself? What are its advantages and disadvantages?

d) If you had an answering machine at home what voicemail message would you leave? Work in pairs and write a funny message.

READING

1. a) If you need to talk to a person, what would you prefer

· to use a phone,

· to send SMS,

· to communicate face to face?

b) What can make you angry on the phone? Write a list of such things. Rank them starting from the most annoying.

c) Complete the list of telephone frustrations using the verbs below. Then compare it with your list. How much coincides?

get play put get listen return take get transfer repeat call get

aThey _______ irritating music when you’re put on hold.

bYou _______ cut off in the middle of your call.

cPeople you call ______ a long time to answer.

dThey ______ you on hold and forget about you.

e You _______ an answer phone.

f They ______ you to another person and you have to ______ your enquiry.

gThey don’t ______ properly to what you are saying.

hYou continually ______ an engaged tone when you ______ someone.

iPeople don’t ______ your calls.

j You ______ through to a voice system.

Read the article and find the answers to these questions.

1. What do people find most annoying on the phone?

2. What three reasons for the rise in phone rage are given? Do you agree?

3. Are telephone techniques improving?

4. What do you think is meant by remote working?

Bad line on behaviour

What drives you to lose your temper on the telephone? Being kept waiting, being connected to voice mail or being passed on to someone else are all common flashpoints. But what infuriates people most of all is talking to someone who sounds inattentive, unconcerned or insincere, according to a survey published recently.

The study by Reed Employment Services, a recruitment company, found that nearly two-thirds of people feel that ‘phone rage’ – people losing their temper on the telephone – has become more common over the past five years. More than half the respondents, who were from 536 organisations, said that they themselves had lost their tempers on the phone this year.

The reasons for this are threefold, according to Reed. People are much more likely to express anger over the phone, rather than in writing or face-to-face. Moreover, telephone usage has been rising steeply over recent years. Increasing numbers of transactions take place entirely by phone, from arranging insurance to paying bills.

In addition, people’s expectations have risen. Nearly three-quarters of respondents to the Reed survey said they are more confident that their problems can be solved over the telephone than they were five years ago.

Companies were taking steps to improve their staff’s telephone answering techniques. The survey found that 70 per cent of organisations require their staff to answer the telephone with a formal company greeting. In 43 per cent of organisations, staff have to give their own names when they answer the telephone.

But a third of organisations do not give any training, or they train only their receptionists. That may not be enough, the report says. As companies move towards ‘remote working’, they need for the right tone of voice extends to every level of the organization.

3. a) When was the last time you called an organization for information? What happened?