If you have to call clients in other parts of the world it’s not surprising that you will sometimes be put through to their answer-phone (voice-mail).  If you are like me, you will have received answer-phone messages in English from non-native speakers that are confusing and hard to understand.  In this article you can learn some tips to leave messages more effectively.

Two important tips for speaking on the telephone:

When speaking on the telephone you should keep in mind the following.

1. ARTICULATION/PRONUNCIATION – pronounce the words clearly and accurately.  If you have to give numbers and letters, eg an email address make sure that they are pronounced clearly in the real alphabet (not a Hong Kong variation) too.  There is nothing more frustrating than trying to listen to someone who can’t distinguish the sounds of v and w (vee / we).  If you don’t know how to pronounce letters correctly, you probably shouldn’t be making phone calls in English.  If that applies to you – seek training from Altitude immediately!

2. VOCAL VOLUME LEVEL – don’t shout down the phone, but speak loud enough so that people can hear you comfortably.  If there is a lot of noise in the background you will need to apologise for this and perhaps reschedule the call.

Speaking Tips when “Leaving” a telephone message

1. Do not speak too fast! – If you speak too quickly, the person listening to the message might not be able to catch important parts of your message, especially if you are leaving important information.

2. Pronounce your name clearly – Announce your name slowly and clearly, especially if your name is not a common name. Spell your name slowly if necessary. Allow people to get the correct spelling of your name.

3. Slow down when saying your telephone number –The listener needs time to write down the number. Repeat it so that they can double check that they recorded it correctly.

4. Give your company name, your title & why you are calling – In one or two short sentences describe who you are and why you are calling. If you are requesting information, leave the important details in a brief message.

5. Let them know when to call you back – Leave a date and time, and don’t forget the telephone number – they cannot call you back if you don’t leave a number.

6. Always sound professional – People may judge you by what you say and how you say it. Ensure that your message is precise and concise, not long-winded. Long messages lose the listener’s attention.

For more information about Business English courses please visit https://businessenglish.com.hk/business-english.  You can arrange a free consultation with an experienced Business English teacher and join the mailing list for free advice about learning English for Professional Purposes.

Advice about giving effective presentations in English from Business English Hong Kong. Article written by Business English Hong Kong's Academic Director Stephen Maule

You may need to give presentations at work in English in order to:

• inform
• train
• persuade
• sell

A successful presentation is one of the most effective ways of communicating your message. English is so widely used in international business that a working knowledge of the vocabulary and techniques used in an English language presentation is a valuable asset.

First Steps?

With good preparation and planning you will be totally confident and less nervous. Your audience, too, will be confident. They will be confident in you. And this will give you control of your audience and of your presentation. With control, you will be ‘in charge’ and your audience will listen positively to your message.

Have a clear objective

Before you start to prepare a presentation, you should ask yourself: “Why am I making this presentation?” Do you need to inform, to persuade, to train or to sell? Your objective should be clear in your mind. If it is not clear in your mind, it cannot possibly be clear to your audience.

Audience

“Who am I making this presentation to?” Sometimes this will be obvious, but not always. You should try to inform yourself.

How many people? Who are they? Business people? Professional people? Political people? Experts or non-experts? Will it be a small group of 4 colleagues or a large gathering of 400 competitors? How much do they know already and what will they expect from you?

Time and length

“When am I making this presentation and how long will it be?” Will it be 5 minutes or 1 hour? Just before lunch, when your audience will be hungry, or just after lunch, when your audience will be sleepy?

Content

“What should I say?” Now you must decide exactly what you want to say. First, you should brainstorm your ideas. You should include only information that is relevant to your audience and your objective. You should exclude all other ideas. You also need to create a title for your presentation (if you have not already been given a title). The title will help you to focus on the subject. And you will prepare your visual aids, if you have decided to use them. But remember, in general, less is better than more (a little is better than a lot). You can always give additional information during the questions after the presentation.

Notes

When you give your presentation, you should be – or appear to be – as spontaneous as possible. You should not read your presentation. You should be so familiar with your subject and with the information that you want to deliver that you do not need to read a text. Reading a text is boring! Reading a text will make your audience go to sleep! So if you don’t have a text to read, how can you remember to say everything you need to say? With notes. You can create your own system of notes. Some people make notes on small, A6 cards. Some people write down just the title of each section of their talk. Some people write down keywords to remind them. The notes will give you confidence, but because you will have prepared your presentation fully, you may not even need them! So prepare, prepare, prepare!

Prepare everything: Words, visual aids, timing, equipment. Rehearse your presentation several times and time it. Is it the right length? Are you completely familiar with all your illustrations? Are they in the right order? Do you know who the audience is? How many people? How will you answer difficult questions? Do you know the room? Are you confident about the equipment?

When you have answered all these questions, you will be confident to carry out your presentation.

For more advice on making effective presentations in English visit https://businesenglish.com.hk. For more great advice about learning English please visit https:/businessenglish,com.hk.
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1. BE

Be is added to other verbs to make continuous and passive forms. WAS is the past tense of IS and AM, WERE is the past tense of ARE. They are all forms of BE.

IS it raining?

Was Peter arrested last night?

2. DO

DO is used to make questions (and negative) forms of non-auxiliary verbs, i.e. main verbs. DID is the past tense of DO and DOES.

DO you smoke?

DID he go to the party last Sunday?

3. HAVE

HAVE is used to make perfect forms. HAD is the past tense of HAVE and HAS.

HAVE you finished your homework?

HAS he talked to you?

4. MODALS

Modal verbs WILL, WOULD, SHOULD, CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT, MUST etc. are also called “modal auxiliary verbs”. They are used with other verbs to add various meanings, mostly to do with degrees of certainty or obligation.

CAN he swim?

WILL you call me tomorrow?

Modals can be auxiliaries:

She can play tennis. Can Sam play football? Will you call me tomorrow? The computer will not start up!

DO/DOES are the auxiliaries used to ask questions in the present (not with the Verb BE):

DO they play tennis every day? DOES she know Jack? DOES Sammy have a brother?

DID is used to ask questions in the past (with these same Verbs):

Did they play tennis yesterday?

Did you call me?

Did they arrive in time to catch the train?

Also in negatives:

I do not understand.

I did not study German.

He did not phone me last night.

In short answers:

Do you have a brother? – Yes, I do.

Does Ellen work for Mr. Jackson? – Yes, she does.

Did you understand the last lesson? – Yes, I did.

WAS is the past tense of AM and IS; WERE is the past tense of ARE. They are all forms of the Verb BE:

I am a shipping clerk.

How old is Sam? – He is 28 years old.

I was at home this morning.

Peter was not very interested in this subject.

Was John from Germany?

Remember that the Verb BE can also be used as an auxiliary to form continuous tenses and Passive Verbs:

Ellen IS WASHING the dishes. (Present Continuous)

The dishes ARE BEING WASHED. (Present Continuous Passive)

Practise grammar along with vocabulary you are learning and it will become natural to you. Find five minutes to speak English every day and your fluency will improve!