English for the telephone

English for the telephone

We are very happy to announce the publication of our new guide to Telephone English. It’s called “Doesn’t anybody speak English?”, and has been written by me, Chris Bartlett. The book is available for sale as a print-on-demand title from Amazon websites around the world.

Sections of the guide

The guide is divided into 5 main sections:

• Answering the phone
  • How to answer the phone.
  • How to transfer a call or offer alternatives.
  • Say that a colleague is available, unavailable.
• Making a call
  • How to introduce ourselves when we make a phone call in English.
• Taking and giving messages
  • Asking the caller to leave a message
  • Taking messages
  • Leaving an effective message
  • Leaving a voicemail message
  • Recording an out-of-office automated response
• Solving communication problems
  • Tips and advice for overcoming communication problems
  • Spelling words and names
  • Checking a message
• Reference
  • The International Phonetic Alphabet

Audio files

Audio files are included for all phrases and conversations in the guide.  Audio files are published as MP3s and purchasers of the guide can be download all the audio in a single ZIP file from the accompanying web site.  The link is published in the book.

A look inside the book

The guide is designed to be easy to use, with a dynamic layout and a strong use of colours.

We’ve included plenty of example conversations, all with a corresponding audio file.

There is a whole chapter on talking messages!

How much does it cost?

The guide and audio files currently cost 15€ if you are buying from an EU country.  If you are buying from elsewhere, prices may be a little higher.

Buy the book now at Amazon

Other Business English resources

Now, if you’ve followed Linguabanca for a while, you’ll know that we’ve been concentrating our efforts on Business English, with special emphasis on the English we need for writing emails, and making or receiving telephone calls.

We have a large free online course on Business English 23, as well as videos on youtube, and off course we have already published a Spanish language version of

Telephone English online

If you teach Business English anywhere in the world, your students should like the new Telephone English course from Business English 23. The first few classes have already been published and we’ll be adding more resources throughout 2021.

Email English

BE23 also has a growing section showing you how to write professional emails in English. Check it out! All the content is free.