If your English feels weaker on the phone, nothing is wrong with you. You have lost every visual cue at once — lips, face, hands — and gained line noise. Everyone finds it harder.
Opening
- "Hello, this is Anjali speaking."
- "Hi, am I speaking with Mr Sharma?"
- "Is this a good time to talk?"
When you cannot hear
Say so immediately. Guessing compounds and the call gets worse.
- "Sorry, could you repeat that?"
- "You're breaking up a bit."
- "Could you speak up slightly? The line isn't great."
- "Let me just confirm — you said Thursday, correct?"
Buying time
Silence feels far longer to you than to the person waiting. These phrases fill it honestly:
- "Let me check that for you."
- "Bear with me one moment."
- "I'll put you on hold briefly, is that alright?"
Taking a message
- "He's not at his desk. Can I take a message?"
- "Could I get your number, and I'll have him call you back?"
- "Let me read that back to you."
Ending well
- "Thanks for your time."
- "I'll follow up by email this afternoon."
- "Speak to you soon."
One habit worth building
Confirm numbers, dates and spellings out loud, always. "That's four-two, not four-three?" A five-second check prevents the call you would otherwise have to make again tomorrow.
