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

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 organizations, 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 phone than they were five years ago.

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

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

Build a list of vocabulary – useful language for efficient and helpful telephone conversation.

-How do you read telephone numbers?

-Build the dialogue – speaking the telephone.

Useful information

A lot of people find it difficult to make phone calls in a foreign language – and that's understandable. You can't see the person you are talking to, their voice might be unclear, and you might find it difficult to find the right words.

Multi-word verbs
One thing you can do to improve your telephone skills is to learn some of the multi-word verbs that are commonly used in telephone conversations. Most of them are featured in this module. Hold on means 'wait' – and hang onmeans 'wait' too. Be careful not to confuse hang on with hang up! Hang up means 'finish the call by breaking the connection' – in other words: 'put the phone down.'

Another phrasal verb with the same meaning as hang up is ring off. The opposite of hang up / ring off is ring up – if you ring somebody up, you make a phone call. And if you pick up the phone, (or pickthe phoneup) you answer a call when the phone rings.

"Hang on a second..."

If you are talking to a receptionist, secretary or switchboard operator, they may ask you to hang on while they put you through – put through means to connect your call to another telephone. With this verb, the object (you, me, him, her etc.) goes in the middle of the verb: put you through.

But if you can't get through to (contact on the phone) the person you want to talk to, you might be able to leave a message asking them to call you back. Call back means to return a phone call – and if you use an object (you, me, him, her etc.), it goes in the middle of the verb: call you back.

Level of formality

Another thing to think about when talking on the telephone is formality. It's important to use the right level of formality – if you are too formal, people might find it difficult to feel comfortable when they talk to you. On the other hand, if you are too informal, people might think you are rude!

Generally speaking, if you are talking to someone in a business context, you should use could, can, may or would when you make a request: 'Could I speak to Jason Roberts, please?' 'Can I take a message?' 'Would next Wednesday be okay?'. You should also use please and thank you or thanks very much whenever you ask for, or receive, help or information.

It's important to show politeness by using words like would, could, please, thank you etc. But it's also okay to use some of the features of informal/spoken English - short forms, phrasal verbs and words like okay and bye - in other words - everyday English! So phrases like I'm off to a conference..., no problem, bye! and hang on a moment and I'll put you through are perfectly acceptable, as long as the overall tone of the conversation is polite.

One last tip - it's better to ask for help or clarification when you're having a telephone conversation, than to pretend you understand something that you didn't. It's perfectly acceptable to use phrases like 'Could you repeat that, please?' 'Could you speak a little more slowly, please?' and 'would you mind spelling that for me please?' Using phrases like these will help make sure that you have a successful phone call, and may save you from lots of problems later on. You could always say that the line's very bad today if you can't hear very well. And it's also a good idea to practise words, phrases and vocabulary before you make the call!

Answering the phone

- Hello? (informal)

- Thank you for calling Boyz Autobody. Jody speaking. How can I help you?

- Doctor's office.

Introducing yourself

- Hey George. It's Lisa calling. (informal)

- Hello, this is Julie Madison calling.

- Hi, it's Gerry from the dentist's office here.

This is she. (The person answering says this if the caller does not recognize their voice).

- Speaking.

Asking to speak with someone

- Is Fred in? (informal)

- Is Jackson there, please? (informal)

- Can I talk to your sister? (informal)

- May I speak with Mr. Green, please?

- Would the doctor be in/available?

Connecting someone

- Just a sec. I'll get him. (informal)

- Hang on one second. (informal)

- Please hold and I'll put you through to his office.

- One moment please.

- All of our operators are busy at this time. Please hold for the next available person.

Making special requests

- Could you please repeat that?

- Would you mind spelling that for me?

- Could you speak up a little please?

- Can you speak a little slower please. My English isn't very strong.

- Can you call me back? I think we have a bad connection.

- Can you please hold for a minute? I have another call.

Taking a message for someone

- Sammy's not in. Who's this? (informal)

- I'm sorry, Lisa's not here at the moment. Can I ask who's calling?

- I'm afraid he's stepped out. Would you like to leave a message?

- He's on lunch right now.Who's calling please?

- He's busy right now. Can you call again later?

- I'll let him know you called.

- I'll make sure she gets the message.

Leaving a message with someone

- Yes, can you tell him his wife called, please.

- No, that's okay, I'll call back later.

- Yes, it's James from CompInc. here. When do you expect her back in the office?

- Thanks, could you ask him to call Brian when he gets in?

- Do you have a pen handy. I don't think he has my number.

- Thanks. My number is 222-3456, extension 12.

Confirming information

- Okay, I've got it all down.

- Let me repeat that just to make sure.

- Did you say 555 Charles St.?

- You said your name was John, right?

- I'll make sure he gets the message.

Listening to an answering machine

- Hello. You've reached 222-6789. Please leave a detailed message after the beep.Thank you.

- Hi, this is Elizabeth. I'm sorry I'm not available to take your call at this time. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

- Thank you for calling Dr. Mindin's office. Our hours are 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday. Please call back during these hours, or leave a message after the tone. If this is an emergency please call the hospital at 333-7896.

Leaving a message on an answering machine

- Hey Mikako. It's Yuka. Call me! (informal)

- Hello, this is Ricardo calling for Luke. Could you please return my call as soon as possible. My number is 334-5689. Thank you.

- Hello Maxwell. This is Marina from the doctor's office calling. I just wanted to let you know that you're due for a check-up this month. Please give us a ring/buzz whenever it's convenient.

Finishing a conversation

- Well, I guess I better get going. Talk to you soon.

- Thanks for calling. Bye for now.

- I have to let you go now.

- I have another call coming through. I better run.

- I'm afraid that's my other line.

- I'll talk to you again soon. Bye.

Leadership.

“We all work together as a team. And that means you do everything I say” Michael Caine, British film actor (in the film “The Italian job”)

- What makes a great leader? Write down the list of characteristics.

- Are there any differences between men and women as leaders?

- Is there any difference between a manager and a leader?

- Which modern or historical leaders do you most admire?

- Write 20 adjectives to describe a leader.

-Are people who were leaders at school more likely to be leaders later in future

-Which of the adjectives below would you use to describe an ideal leader?

Give reasons for your choice. What adjectives would you add?

Decisive, charismatic, cautious, aggressive, magnetic, informal, passionate, adventurous,

energetic, ruthless, accessible, thoughtful, flexible, persuasive, motivating, impulsive, opportunistic, open, balanced, straight, careful, adventurous, uncaring, lunatic, moderate.

-Can you think of adjectives with opposite meanings to the ones above?

decisive - indecisive

-The following article is about Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea, the

home furnishings retail giant. Which of the following do you expect Ingvar to do

or to be?

1 drive an old car

2 travel first class

3 be dyslexic

4 be formal

5 be careful with money

6 dress smartly

7 love detail