Dealing with unexpected phone calls in the office
Das Telefon klingelt. Im Display ist eine ausländische Nummer. Mit diesen Tipps von Secretary Today schalten Sie ganz schnell und mühelos ins Englische.
Use these tips to prepare yourself - how to speak English on the phone
- Keep a copy of the British, American and international telephone alphabet next to your phone.
- Keep a list of commonly used words next to your phone.
- Make sure you can spell your own name, yourboss’s name and the name of your company until they come naturally. These are the names you will have to spell most often.
- Make sure you know how to say important telephone numbers like your boss’s mobile number clearly. Always dictate numbers one by one. For example, if you have to say the telephone number 681055, don’t say sixty-eight, ten, fifty-five, but six – eight – one – zero – five – five (or double five).
- Make sure you know how to say the time and date properly.
https://www.simplify.de/Weitere Tipps zum Thema 'Telefonieren mit englischen Geschäftspartnern' finden Sie in Secretary Today
List of commonly used phone vocabulary
| German | English | German | English | |
| Amtszeichen | dialing tone | Nachricht aufnehmen | to take down a message | |
| Anruf, gespeichert | recorded message | Name vergessen | the name has slipped my mind | |
| Anweisungen | instructions | Notruf | emergency call | |
| Auslandsgespräch | international call | Nummer suchen | to look up a number | |
| beruhigen | to calm down | Ortsgespräch | local call | |
| Chef | boss / superior | Personal | staff / personnel / team | |
| durchkommen | to get through | Reiseplan | itinerary | |
| Durchwahl | direct number / extension number | R-Gespräch | reverse charge call / collect call | |
| Durchwählen | to dial direct | sich beeilen | to hurry | |
| erwähnen | to mention | stören | to disturb | |
| es macht nichts aus | Never mind / I don´t mind | Tagesprogramm | schedule | |
| es nicht schaffen | not make it / not succeed | Telefonbuch | directory | |
| Fernverbindung | long-distance call | Telefonzentrale | operator / telephone exchange / switch- board | |
| festgesetzte Zeit | agreed time | Termin festlegen | to fix a meeting | |
| Filiale | branch | Terminkalender | calendar | |
| Gelegenheit | opportunity | Tochtergesellschaft | subsidiary | |
| geschäftlich | on business | übereinstimmen | to agree | |
| Gespräch mit Voranmeldung | person-to-person call | nicht überein- stimmen | not agree / disagree | |
| Handy | mobile / cellular phone | verbinden | to put through / connect | |
| Hauptniederlassung | headquarters | verschieben | to postpone / put off / move back | |
| Hörer auflegen | to hang up | vertreten | to represent | |
| Hörer abnehmen | to pick up the receiver | vorlesen | to read out | |
| ich freue mich, Sie kennen zu lernen | I´m looking forward to meeting you | Vorrang | priority | |
| im Auftrag von | on behalf of | Vorwahl ohne 0 | area code minus the first 0 | |
| Informationen | data, details, information | wählen | to dial | |
| interne Verbindung | internal call | warten | to wait / hold on / put someone on hold | |
| Können, Fertigkeit | skills / performance | weiterleiten | to pass on / transfer | |
| Landesvorwahl | country code | zurückrufen | to call back / ring back | |
| Leitung unterbrechen | to cut off / disconnect |