CLERK Good morning. International Centre. Can I help you?
MR Yes, please. I want to book a place at the Trade Fair in April.
CLERK Certainly, sir. We can take a telephone booking, but we’ll need a deposit.
MR Sorry, I don’t understand. What does "deposit" mean?
CLERK It means you must pay some of the money when you make your booking, sir. The deposit’s eighty dollars.
MR Er... eighteen, or eighty? Can you say that again, please.
CLERK It’s eighty dollars, sir. Eight - zero. Eighty. You can pay by credit card.
MR Ah - eighty. OK. Here’s my credit card number. Four, seven, nine, zero, six, three, seven…

• What does deposit mean?
• Can you say that again, please?

2. SURVIVAL - Asking someone to speak more slowly

MR Excuse me. Where’s the conference room, please?
RECEPTIONIST (Speaking rapidly) You want the conference room, Sir? Just go straight on, then turn right, and it’s the second on the left.
MR Er, sorry... Can you speak more slowly, please.
RECEPTIONIST Oh sorry, Sir. (slowly) The conference room ... straight on, then turn right, it’s the second on the left.
MR OK... straight on, left, second right.
RECEPTIONIST Oh no, Sir! Go straight on, turn right, and it’s the second on the left.
MR Oh ... straight on, right, second left.
RECEPTIONIST That’s right, Sir.
MR Good. Thank you.

• Can you speak more slowly, please?

3. TELEPHONE - Answering the telephone

RECEPTIONIST Good morning. Top Tees. Can I help you?
MRS WONG Good morning. Can I speak to the Sales Manager, please?
RECEPTIONIST The Sales Manager. Who’s calling please?
MRS WONG It’s Mrs Wong. From F.A.M. Fashions.
RECEPTIONIST Mrs Wong from F.A.M. Fashions. Is that F for father?
MRS WONG That’s right, and M for mother.
RECEPTIONIST One moment please, Mrs Wong. I’m putting you through.

• Can I help you?

4. TELEPHONE - Putting the caller through

RECEPTIONIST Good morning. C J Enterprises. Can I help you?
MRS __ Good morning. Can I speak to the sales manager, please?
RECEPTIONIST The sales manager? Can you hold the line, please?
MRS __ Er... OK.
RECEPTIONIST Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m putting you through now.
MRS __ OK, thank you.
RECEPTIONIST Can you hold the line, please?
RECEPTIONIST Sorry to keep you waiting.

• I’m putting you through.

5. TRAVEL - Making a reservation

CLERK Good morning. Grand Hotel International. Can I help you?
MR. SCOTT Good morning. Have you got a room for the nineteenth,
please?
CLERK A single or double room, sir?
MR SCOTT Single.
CLERK Just one night, sir?
MR SCOTT No, for two nights, please.
CLERK Two nights - thank you. Can I have your name and contact number, please sir? Can I help you?
MR SCOTT It’s Mr. Brian Scott - that’s S-C-O- Double T - and the number’s Edinburgh 329-6414.
CLERK Edinburgh 329-6414. So that’s a single room for the nineteenth of June for two nights, Mr. Scott. Thank you very much, we look forward to seeing you then.

• Have you got a single room for the nineteenth, please?

6. TRAVEL - Rescheduling

CLERK Good morning. How can I help you?
MRS GRANT Good morning. I’d like to change a flight, please.
CLERK Can I have your ticket, please?
MRS GRANT Yes, certainly. Here it is.
CLERK Thank you. Now, when would you like to go?
MRS GRANT I’d like to go on the sixteenth, please.
CLERK On the sixteenth...Yes...There are two flights available - at twelve oh five and at twenty-two thirty.
MRS GRANT I’d like to take the twenty-two thirty, please.
CLERK OK. So, I’ve cancelled your original booking and I’ve booked you a seat on the sixteenth of November at twenty-two thirty. Here’s your new ticket.
MRS GRANT Great . Thank you.

• I’d like to change a flight, please.

7. SOCIALISING - Invitations

DAVID Tony. It’s good to see you again.
TONY David! It’s good to see you too. Oh and congratulations - how’s the new job?
DAVID It’s great, really great. So ... When do you go back to Singapore?
TONY Umm, in about a week. My flight’s next Friday evening.
DAVID Oh good. Well then...would you like to come for a round of golf on Sunday? My club’s nearby.
TONY Great. Oh yes. Yes please. That would be great. What time?
DAVID Er...eight o’clock, at your hotel -OK?
TONY Ok. Thanks again. See you at eight on Sunday.

• Would you like to come for a round of golf?
• Would you like to come for dinner?
• Would you like to come to a party?
• Would you like to come to the cinema?

8. NEGOTIATING

MR R Well, my price is two hundred and twenty thousand dollars.
MRS C Two hundred and twenty thousand! That's too much.
MR R Well, OK. If you give me six weeks, I can reduce the price. Two hundredthousand dollars?
MRS C OK. Two hundred thousand. It's a deal. Now let's just go over the terms again. You finish the job in six weeks and the price is two hundred
thousand dollars.

• If you give me six weeks, I can reduce the price.

9. PRESENTATIONS I

BOBBY LEE Good morning everyone and thanks for coming.
I’m Bobby Lee and I’m going to introduce you to our great new product - the Cool It Cube. I’m going to keep my presentation nice and short ... as I know you’re all busy people. It’ll take about fifteen minutes.
First, I’m going to tell you all about the Cool It Cube, then I’m going to show you how it works.
After that I’m going to talk about our very special prices.
And finally, we’ll move on to your questions. I’ll be very happy to answer these at the end of the presentation.

• I’m going to...
• I’m going to tell...
• I’m going to show...
• I’m going to talk...
• I’m going to introduce you to our great new product.
• I’m going to keep my presentation nice and short.
• I’am going to talk about our very special prices.

10. PRESENTATIONS II

BOBBY LEE So, to sum up the key points I’ve made today.
What makes the Cool It Cube really special is that it’s quiet, it’s energy-saving and it’s really Cool!
OK. I’d like to end there so that we have plenty of time for questions. Thank-you everyone.

• To sum up ...

11. HANDLING COMPLAINTS

MR XY Good morning, Customer Services. Can I help you?
MRS WONG Good morning. I’m Mrs Wong from "News English Magazine". And I’d like to make a complaint about our delivery.
MR XY Oh, sorry to hear that, Mrs Wong. What’s the problem?
MRS WONG Well, we ordered four thousand copies of the magazine, but only three thousand were delivered.
MR XY You ordered four thousand copies, but only three thousand were delivered. Ohh... Mmm I’ll look into it immediately and call you back.

• Sorry to hear that
• I’ll look into it

12. INTERVIEWS

MRS. ADAMS Can you tell me what you use computers for in your job?
MR XY We use them to record sales. I introduced a program called Numbers into my office.
MRS. ADAMS Oh, can you tell me how you did that?
MR XY Yes. I wrote a report to my manager about Numbers. It’s a good program. It records daily and weekly sales.
MRS. ADAMS * Mmm. I’m interested in what you said earlier about introducing Numbers. Can you tell me what you said in your report?
MR XY Mmm, I said Numbers saves time and money.
MRS. ADAMS Good. We use the Numbers program here, too. Well, ... just one last question - can you tell me when you can start?

• Can you tell me...
• Can you tell me where the manager is?
• Can you tell me how much this is?
• Can you tell me how to get there?

13. MEETINGS - Chairing a meeting

DAVE: Good morning, everyone. Thanks for coming. Has everyone got a copy of the agenda?
ALL: Mmm... Yes... Uh huh... Yes thanks.
DAVE: Good ... So ... the first thing on the agenda is the Singapore conference.
Should we go to Singapore or not this year? Susan?
SUSAN: Mmm ... I say no, Dave. The Singapore conference is just too small. And anyway, we go to the Hong Kong conference in June.
JO: Oh yes. Hong Kong was really good last year ... great hotel!
SUSAN: Yes, but a long walk to the conference centre.
DAVE: Mmm ... but perhaps we can talk about Hong Kong after the meeting. Let’s focus on Singapore for now.
SUSAN): Of course.
JO: O.K.
DAVE: So. Should we go to Singapore or not?

• Let’s focus on Singapore for now.

14. MEETINGS - Disagreeing with someone

BOBBY Now, the first point on the agenda today is the office move.
MAY) Great!
SAM) Oh no - not again.
BOBBY O.K. ... Sam.... what do you think?
SAM Right. Well... I think we need a bigger office here. Business is good. Hundreds of tourists come here. We just need more space.
MAY I’m afraid I don’t agree, Sam. If we have an office in the city centre, more tourists will visit. The tourists are in the city centre.
SAM Mmm ... but, May, an office in the city centre.... that’s very expensive.
MAY Yes, but if we are in the centre more tourists will visit. And more tourists mean more business!
BOBBY And that’s a very important point!

• I’m afraid I don’t agree.

15. COMMUNICATION SKILLS

MRS. GRAHAM: So ... can you make this your priority, please?
MRS. GRAHAM:. I’ve got some good news and some bad news.
COLLEAGUE: Mmm?
MRS. GRAHAM: Well, the good news is that the bank wants to buy some new computers.
COLLEAGUE: Great! But what’s the bad news?
MRS. GRAHAM: The bad news is that they want to know how much they will cost ... by Friday.
COLLEAGUE: (Phew! Gasp! Intake of breath!)
MRS. GRAHAM: So ... can you make this your priority, please?
COLLEAGUE: Right ... well ...
I can tell you how much the maintenance package will cost by Wednesday ...
MRS. GRAHAM: Good. What is the maintenance package?
COLLEAGUE: It’s "repair and replace".
MRS. GRAHAM: "Repair and replace"? So, if the bank’s computer breaks, we give them a new one. Is that right?
COLLEAGUE: Yes -- that’s right.
MRS. GRAHAM: OK. So you can give me that cost by Wednesday.
COLLEAGUE: Yeah.
MRS. GRAHAM: And can you give me the total price by Thursday afternoon?
COLLEAGUE: That shouldn’t be a problem.
MRS. GRAHAM: Excellent! Thank you.

• Can you make this your priority, please?

16. TIME MANAGEMENT

BOSS: Er ... Susan. Can we talk about the new hotel account? There’s a problem.
SUSAN: Yes, of course. But, can we talk tomorrow? I’m very busy right now.
BOSS: OK. What time?
SUSAN: I’ll just check my diary. (FX: sound of pages turning over) Er ... I’m free between four and five.
BOSS: That’s fine. Four o’clock -- for half an hour.
SUSAN: OK In your office?
BOSS: Yes. See you then.
SUSAN: OK. Bye.

• I’ll just check my diary.

17. ASSERTIVENESS

LADY BOSS: Great news! I’m head of the new finance project. And I’d like you to work on it with me.
MR. JOHNSON: Thank you ... and congratulations - it’s a very exciting project. I’d like to think about it for a few days before I give you my answer. You see, I’m very busy with the annual reports. I might not have time for extra work.
LADY BOSS: I see ... but you’ll finish the annual reports soon. I’m sure you’ll have time for the project.
MR. JOHNSON: Thanks. But I’d like to think about it for a few days. I’ll give you my answer by Wednesday.
LADY BOSS: OK then. ...Well, let’s speak again on Wednesday.
MR. JOHNSON: Of course. And thanks again for the offer.

• I’d like to ...
• I’d like to think about it for a few days.

18. MANAGING PEOPLE

MR. ARCHER: I’d like to talk to you about your time keeping. I’ve had complaints that other agents have to answer your phone in the morning.
MR. ? Oh ... I see ... You’ve had complaints about me.
MR. ARCHER: I’ve noticed that you’ve been late every day this week. What’s the problem?
MR. ?: I’m really sorry about that. The bus has been late every day.
MR. ARCHER: I see. You know our day starts at nine o’clock ... and the bus may be late again. What do you suggest?
MR. ?: Well, I could try and catch the early bus.
MR. ARCHER: O.K. Well, let’s agree that you catch the early bus, and we’ll see what time you arrive tomorrow.

• I’ve noticed that ...
• I’ve noticed that you didn’t attend the meeting.
• I’ve noticed that there are some spelling mistakes in this letter.
• I’ve noticed that you’ve been late every day this week.

19. BUSINESS FOR MARKETING

MR. CLIFFORD: Morning everyone. Thanks for coming.
3 VOICES [general response]
MR. CLIFFORD: O.K. You all have copies of our market research and SWOT analysis in front of you?
3 VOICES [general response]
MR. CLIFFORD: Good. Well ... First I’d like to look at the market research chart.
You can see that the main consumer of this type of health drink is female.
1 VOICE Yes.... A young, single working woman.
MR. CLIFFORD: That’s right. Now what makes "Zip" different from the many other health drinks is that it’s a meal! Our product’s special because it has fruit! Here ... try some.
3 VOICES [general approval]

• Our product’s special because it has fruit.

20. FLEXIBILITY

MAUZ Look, I'm sorry, but we only do them in black.
MARIKO I don't believe I'm hearing this. I'll buy 25,000 of these cases from you - that's a huge order...
MAUZ Yes, of course, Ms Mariko
MARIKO ... but I want them in red.
MAUZ As I say, Ms Mariko, I'm sorry, but I can't make that kind of commitment just like that, on the phone.
MARIKO Well, why not?
MAUZ You must understand there are certain procedures that we have to follow.
MARIKO Look, this is a major market opportunity for you...
MAUZ What can I say? I'm afraid that's just not the way we do things round here.
MARIKO Well, thanks, and... er... no thanks. Goodbye.
MOLE Jan! (FX: PHONE DOWN) Am I right in thinking that you just said "No" to a large order.
MAUZ Um, well, yes, I suppose I did.
MOLE What were you thinking of?
MAUZ Well... well... I just assumed.
MOLE What did you assume?
MAUZ I just assumed that because we'd never done this kind of thing before it wasn't possible.
MOLE Jan. Never make assumptions. For a customer like her, anything is possible. Or, at least anything was possible.
MAUZ I'm sorry.

• I'm sorry, but we only do them in black.
• I'm afraid that's just not the way we do things round here.