Your phone is in your hand. The number is on the screen. You know the words appointment and please, and you have known them for years. You still look at the phone for ten minutes.
This page follows one phone call from the first ring to goodbye. It starts with a call that went wrong and ends with a call that went well, and the difference between the two is only two short pieces of English. If you take them, the next call to an office, a clinic or a shop starts easily.
The story and the lines in curly marks come from a podcast episode for A1-A2 learners about seven everyday places, linked at the end. Sentences in italics are written for this page unless they are marked as quotes.
Ten minutes on the bed
Emily, one of the hosts, tells about her first year in England. She had a terrible toothache and she had to call a dentist: “I sat on my bed with my phone for ten minutes. Just looking at it.” (22:15) Then she called. A woman answered and said hello, and Emily said her first sentence: “I am Emily.” (22:32)
After that she had nothing more to say. The woman waited and then asked: “Sorry, who is this?” (22:42) She asked a second question, too: How can I help you? Emily says how it felt: “She asked me twice. I felt so small.” (22:47)
Notice that Emily’s English was fine. Every word was correct. I am Emily is a good sentence in a room, with a person in front of you. On the phone, it stopped the call.
Two pieces were missing
Emily’s co-host Paul asks where the problem was, and Emily gives two answers: “On the phone, people say this is, not I am.” (22:54) “And I didn’t say why I was calling.” (23:00)
Put them next to each other:
| What Emily said | What was missing |
|---|---|
| I am Emily. | The phone way to say your name: this is Emily. |
| (silence) | The reason: why are you calling? |
Both pieces are small. You do not need a long speech. You need one line for your name and one line for your reason.
A phone call is talking in the dark
Paul gives a picture that makes the rule easy to remember: “A phone call is like talking in the dark.” (23:05) The other person cannot see your face. They cannot see that you are smiling or that you are holding a toothache. They cannot see what you need.
So the hosts say you must give two things fast: “Who you are, and why you call.” (23:16) In the dark, your voice has to carry both.
First line: Hello, this is your name
The first line in the episode is short: “Hello, this is Emily.” (23:21) Paul says it with his own name and asks you to repeat: Hello, this is Paul.
You can use the same line with any name:
- Hello, this is Anna.
- Hello, this is Mia.
- Hello, this is Sam.
Say hello first, then this is, then your name. Use your own name, of course: if your name is Paul, it is very easy.
Second line: I’m calling about…
The reason comes right after your name. Paul gives one form for something you already have: “I’m calling about my appointment.” (23:29) Emily gives another one for something you want to start: “I’m calling to make an appointment, please.” (23:33)
Together, the two lines make a full opening:
Hello, this is Emily. I’m calling to make an appointment, please.
That is about five seconds. The woman at the dentist’s office would have known everything she needed to know.
Calling for a person
Sometimes you do not want the office. You want one person. The episode plays a short call to a small office. Paul answers the phone and Emily calls:
Paul: Good morning, Green Street Office. (23:39)
Emily: Hello, this is Emily. Can I speak to Grace, please? (23:41)
Paul: Sorry, she’s not here right now. (23:45)
Look at what Emily did. She used the same first line, Hello, this is Emily, and then she asked for the person: Can I speak to Grace, please? Paul explains that this is the way to ask for a person: “Can I speak to Grace, please. This is how you ask for a person.” (24:15)
You will hear Sorry, she’s not here right now a lot. Emily says so herself: “You will hear this one a lot.” (24:18) It is not bad news. It only means the person is out, and you can still finish the call.
When the person is not there
Emily does not hang up. She asks two questions that you can copy:
- When will she be back? (23:47)
- Can I leave a message? (23:52)
Paul says: Of course. Go ahead. Then Emily gives the message in one short line: “Can you tell her I called?” (23:56) and her phone number. The hosts remind you how to say the number: “Say numbers slowly, one by one. Five, five, five.” (24:32) Emily adds the reason: “People on the phone write numbers down. Give them time.” (24:37)
After the message, the call ends the way a friendly call ends: Thank you. Have a nice day. (24:05) and You too. Bye. Emily’s own opinion of the call is short and happy: “That was much better than my dentist call.” (24:08)
Two lines, one clinic
Real calls often need more than one line, and the episode ends the phone place with a call to a clinic. Emily is the receptionist this time, and Paul calls:
Emily: Good morning, Hill Street Clinic. (27:42)
Paul: Hello, this is Paul. I’m calling to make an appointment, please. (27:46)
Emily: Of course. What’s the problem? (27:50)
Paul: I have a bad cough and a sore throat, for three days now. (27:52)
Emily: Okay. Is nine thirty tomorrow morning okay? (27:56)
Paul: Yes, that’s perfect. Thank you very much.
The call has three small parts: the phone opening (this is Paul, I’m calling to make an appointment), the doctor line (I have a bad cough and a sore throat) and the answer to a time (Yes, that’s perfect). Paul says that two lines together make the whole call: “Two keys, one short telephone call, and the appointment is ready.” (28:05)
Emily then compares it with her silence on the bed. Paul’s answer is the idea of this whole page: “The difference is not your English level. It’s having the first sentence ready.” (28:13)
Five phone openings to fix
The table is written for this page. Each line on the left is something a learner might say when the phone is answered. The line on the right is the short fix from the episode.
| A weak opening | What goes wrong | The line to use |
|---|---|---|
| I am Anna. | Sounds like a person in the room. | Hello, this is Anna. |
| Hello? (and then silence) | The other person does not know who you are or what you need. | Hello, this is Anna. I’m calling about my appointment. |
| I want to speak Grace. | The small words are missing and it sounds cold. | Can I speak to Grace, please? |
| Tell Grace call me. | Too short for a message. | Can you tell her I called? |
| My number is 555218. | Numbers in a lump are hard to write down. | Five, five, five, two, one, eight. Say them one by one, slowly. |
Build your own call
Take a pen or your phone and try these. Say each answer out loud before you open the answers.
- Your name is Ben and you call a dentist about your appointment on Friday. Write the first two lines of the call.
- A man answers and says: Good morning, Blue Street Garage. You want to speak to Tom. What do you say?
- He says: Sorry, Tom’s not here right now. Ask when he will be back.
- You want to leave a message. Ask for it and say what he should tell Tom.
- You are calling a clinic because you have a bad headache and you want to see a doctor. Write the opening and the reason.
- The person says a time too fast, and you do not catch it. What can you say? (Hint: one line from the episode’s help place.)
Answers
- Hello, this is Ben. I’m calling about my appointment on Friday.
- Hello, this is [your name]. Can I speak to Tom, please?
- When will he be back?
- Can I leave a message? Then: Can you tell him I called?
- Hello, this is [your name]. I’m calling to make an appointment, please. I have a bad headache.
- Sorry, can you say that again? (09:59) This is a quote from the part of the episode about asking a stranger for help, and it works on the phone, too.
Three worries before the call
What if I forget my own opening? Write it on a small piece of paper and keep it next to the phone. The hosts do the same with a different sentence: Paul wrote a pharmacy sentence on a bus ticket and read it for a week.
What if they say something I do not understand? Say so, and ask again. Sorry, can you say that again? is short and always polite. The episode also says honest sentences are better than a confused yes: “Honest sentences are always better than a confused yes.” (21:53)
Do I need long sentences? No. Two short lines are enough: your name and your reason. The rest of the call follows the other person’s questions.
Hear it in a real conversation
Emily tells the dentist story in the phone place of the episode, then plays the Green Street call and the clinic call with Paul, with pauses for you to say your own opening. You can hear it in Daily English Conversation Practice for Beginners: Seven Everyday Places, Seven Key Sentences.
The whole call in one line
Hello, this is [name]. I’m calling about / to [reason].
Name first, then reason. In the dark, those two short lines are the whole door.