Nowadays, businesspeople sometimes mainly write emails and messages instead of a quick telephone call. This increases the fear when you have to make a call.

In fact, research shows somewhere between 40-70% of native speakers find phone calls stressful these days.

The good news is that you can feel more confident in your phone calls in 5 minutes with the simple strategies below. These the first steps I help my coaching clients take when phone conversations put them on edge.

Let's walk through some practical advice to help you manage phone calls in English with more confidence--starting today.

1. The foundation – start the call right.

Knowing how to answer the phone when you receive calls or how to state your name and company when you make a call, gives you a sense of confidence for a call.

Here is an example for receiving a call:

‘English2business, Petra speaking. How may I help you?’

Here’s how to make the call in English when you’re the one calling:

 ‘This is Petra calling from English2business near Bremen. May I speak to …’

Try to formulate a first phrase in advance. Then, when the phone rings and you see a foreign number, you won’t find yourself thinking: ‘Oh dear, a call from abroad. What should I say?’

2. Slow callers down and ask for repetition.

Sometimes you might not understand what your conversation partner says due to a bad line, or because he’s speaking quickly or with an unfamiliar accent. There is nothing wrong with asking someone to slow down or repeat themselves in a conversation. Even native English speakers do this.

In this case don’t hesitate to make the other person aware of it because they might not know whether you understand them. Whatever you do,  don’t pretend you understand everything because it is perfectly okay not to. We are all humans, and nobody will bite your head off when you don’t understand them.

 Here's a polite way of responding when you don't understand.

You can also say, "Sorry, I didn't catch that." It could be for all kinds of reasons, couldn't hear, bad connection. The person will usually repeat themselves naturally and with better pronunciation too if they're used to international settings...: ‘Could you repeat that? Could you slow down a little for me, please? Did I get it right that you want to speak to Ms Doyle?’

3. Spell names and numbers

 And now comes the tricky part: names you’re not familiar with!

Even if your comprehension is excellent,it can be challenging to understand some names. I had difficulties with some Irish names like Aisling, Cleena or Siobhán.

In this case, it is best to ask for their spelling. ‘Could you spell that for me? How do you spell the name Aisling?’

Maybe you are not familiar with the names at all and don’t know which one is the first name and which one the surname.

In this case you can say: ‘Sorry, I’m not so familiar with Irish names. May I ask you to let me know which name is your first name and which your surname?’

People I coach need help to tell the difference between numbers like thirty, fifteen or fifty on the phone. If that's true for you, you can clarify by asking: ‘Sorry, do you mean thirteen as in one three or thirty as in three zero?’

4. Read it back.

For example, you might need to take a message when you need to pass on some information to a colleague so that they can return a call.

In this case it makes sense to read the most important information back to the caller.

You could ask: ‘May I read it back to you to ensure I got the right contact details?’

If you are the caller, you could ask: ‘May I ask you to read it back?’  It is a very effective way to avoid misunderstandings.

5. Know how to end calls, too.

At some point, you’ll need to know how to end the call. And knowing how can help you avoid awkward hesitation.

When you are the receiver of the call, you could end it by summarizing the most essential information and saying goodbye:

‘I’ll make sure Mr. Schneider gets your message asap. Thanks for calling. Bye.’

When you call someone, you could say: ‘Thanks for your help. It was great talking to you. Bye-bye.’

Takeaway:

Remember that native and advanced English speakers can get nervous on phone calls. And it’s okay if you do, too. Take matters into your own hands today by practising any of these 5-minute strategies that will help you handle phone calls in English.

In my experience as a Business English coach, knowing how to handle these five moments of a phone conversation can help many people quickly feel more comfortable.

If you’re still struggling after these tips, you may want to take some time to troubleshoot your needs with a trained professional. Sometimes, the problem is easier to fix than you think.

To talk to an experienced Business English coach for native-German speakers, get in touch here.

In case you are a little afraid to speak English in business check out my blog: 3 tricks to reduce your fear of speaking English in business.

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