How To Talk On Phone?

January 7, 2020 IELTS Research

Once you go abroad, there will be chances where you need to make a conversation on phone. Although it sounds easy to some but could be quite weird to some since they are not able to see the person they are seeing. Well, if you are one of those who gets a little uncomfortable while talking on the phone, following the below tips could prove to lessen your burden.

Don’t Be Direct

One of the main problems we make is we are very direct. For example, I want to talk to Mr. XYZ. It is not polite to say “want”. It is preferred to rather a use could, would, may. For e.g. I would like to talk to Mr. XYZ.

Practice

Practice, but then how to practice? Well, you can practice with your friend. Or you may call a business chain whom you know has an answering machine and write down the key points. You can also practice in front of a mirror or record it and analyze it yourself.

Spelling

A lot of times we have to spell on the phone. In those cases, it is important to be able to pronounce the letters correctly. For e.g. you may say, “my name is Anmol”. and the person on the other side could ask you to pronounce it. You need to then spell it. You do this as, an as in ash, n as in Neptune and on. But then why do you need to give examples? Because some English letters sound the same on phone. Example : p, t,v sound quite similar on phone.

Numbers

It is important to practice numbers because after all you a conversation can even have them. But why practice them? Because you may get confused between 30 and 13 or 40 and 14. Practice listening to long numbers.

Ask

Now, this is the most important thing. If you don’t understand something, ask them. You can say, I am sorry could you repeat that. Can you please low down, my English is not so strong.

Memorize Key Expressions

There are some expressions that are very common or are required as it is. E.g. May I ask who is calling, please. Is so and so there?

Formal/Informal

Remember there is a difference between formal and informal. Formal is used with someone whom you don’t know. Informal is one used with friends. It is important that you use them where they can be used.

Smile

Why smile when no one is even seeing you? When you smile when you are on phone, it will calm you down. And you will be able to make some good conversation.

Go on, be confident, make some calls. It is okay to make some mistakes, as long as you are ready to improve on them.

Feel free to call for suggestions and queries.