How to take a phone message at work in English (A1 beginner): caller, reason and callback number

Answering a call for a colleague

Answer with your department and your name: “Sales. Maya speaking.” The caller then knows they have the right team. If they want someone who isn’t there, say why briefly and offer to take a message.

Below, a colleague from another department calls. Listen, then repeat each line.

• “She’s out.” – not in the office now
• “He’s in a meeting.”
• “She’s on another call.”

The four parts of a phone message

A good message lets your colleague act without asking you anything. It has four parts, a few words each. The reason is what the call is about; the action (the “Message” line) is what the caller wants. Put each part on its own line and add the caller’s department or company, as two people may share a first name.

The message from the call above:

• Caller: Owen Hart (logistics)
• Reason: two new desks
• Message: Please call Owen back.
• Number: 074 618 205

Leaving a message when you are the caller

When you call and the person is out, give the same four parts. On the phone, people usually say “It’s Owen.” or “This is Owen.” rather than “I’m Owen.”, and use “about” for the topic.

• “Hi, it’s Owen from logistics.”
• “I’m calling about two new desks.”
• “Please ask her to call me back.”

Getting the number and reading it back

Ask with “Go ahead with your number.” or “What’s your number?” Write it down, then read it back in the same groups with “So that’s …”. The caller says “That’s right.” or corrects it.

Say each digit separately and pause between groups; 0 is “zero” or “oh”. Missed a part? Ask “Sorry, can you repeat that?”

Department names: where the caller works

Callers from inside the company give their department: “It’s Owen from logistics.” Say the strong syllable clearly; on the phone, stress helps people recognise a word.

• sales – the team that sells
• logistics (lo-GIS-tics) – the team that moves goods
• production (pro-DUC-tion) – the team that makes the products
• finance – money and payments
• human resources (HR) – hiring and employees
• IT – technology; say both letters: “eye-tee”
• “Which department do you work in?” – “I work in finance.”

Talking about your team: “we make”, “they don’t sell”

To say what a team does, use the present simple. With I, you, we and they, the verb has no -s; add “don’t” for the negative and start a question with “Do”. Use “there is” for one thing and “there are” for more. With he and she, add -s: “Owen works in logistics.”

• “We make office furniture.”
• “They don’t sell food.”
• “Do you work in sales?” – “Yes, I do.”
• “What do they make?”
• “There is one factory.” / “There are two offices.”

Common mistakes

These cause problems on the phone:

• “Please ask her to call back me.” A pronoun goes in the middle: “call me back”.
• “Can I take message?” Add “a”: “Can I take a message?”
• “Who are you?” sounds rude on the phone. Ask “Who’s calling, please?”
• Not reading the number back: one wrong digit, and your colleague calls the wrong person.
• “We works in sales.” / “Does you work …?” With we and you: “We work …”, “Do you work …?”

A 10-minute daily practice routine

Practise out loud, with numbers and departments from your job.

• 3 minutes: play the call, repeat each line, then answer as the person who takes the message.
• 2 minutes: say three numbers from your contacts and read each back with “So that’s …”.
• 2 minutes: invent a call with a new caller, reason and number; write the four-part message.
• 3 minutes: describe your team: “I work in … We … We don’t … There are … people in my team.”

What comes next

Next, move from the phone to writing: confirm a phone order in a short email with the item, quantity, total and delivery day. Then write a notice for a team event and invite a colleague.