Goal

You’ll be able to handle basic phone and digital communication situations, including common phrases genuinely specific to this medium.

Learn

Phone conversations use specific phrases genuinely different from face-to-face conversation:

Hello, this is Sarah speaking.      (answering, identifying yourself)
Can I speak to Mr. Johnson, please?  (asking for someone)
Sorry, could you repeat that?        (asking for clarification)
Can you hear me?                     (checking connection quality)
I'll call you back.                  (ending, planning to call again)

Notice This is Sarah speaking — genuinely different phrasing from introducing yourself in person (I’m Sarah), since phone conversations have their own specific conventions.

Digital/written communication (email, text) has its own genuinely distinct conventions too: Dear Mr. Johnson, (formal email opening) versus Hi John, (casual email opening); Best regards, or Sincerely, (formal closing) versus Thanks, or Talk soon, (casual closing). Matching the right register to email formality is a genuinely real skill, similar to spoken politeness levels from the previous lesson.

Decision Task

You are answering the phone at work and want to identify yourself in the standard, expected way. Before reading on: would you say I’m Sarah (the in-person introduction) or This is Sarah speaking?

Common Mistake

Using in-person introduction phrasing on the phone, or vice versa, without recognizing that phone conversation has its own genuinely distinct conventions. This is Sarah speaking (phone) and I’m Sarah (in-person) aren’t simply interchangeable — each medium has its own real, expected phrasing.

Practice Questions

1. How would you identify yourself when answering the phone?

2. How would you ask to speak to a specific person on the phone?

3. What phrase would you use if you didn’t hear something clearly on the phone?

4. Write a formal email opening.

5. Write a casual email closing.

Try It Yourself

Without looking back, write a short phone exchange: answer the phone identifying yourself, and ask to speak to a specific person.

Quick Check

1. How do you identify yourself when answering the phone?

2. How do you ask for a specific person on the phone?

3. What phrase asks someone to repeat something?

4. Name a formal email opening.

5. Name a formal email closing.