Practise Talking On The Phone In English: Call the Bank With Me!

Video Transcript
Section 1
Well hey there! I’m Emma from mmmEnglish! Today is speaking practice. You’re going to speak with me in a type of conversation that can be pretty stressful. A phone call.

Telephoning is an important skill even though a lot of our communication these days is done by email or by text messaging, there are still plenty of situations that require you to pick up the phone.

In this lesson, we’re going to practise making a phone call to the bank and we’ll cover some of the most common expressions that are used in these types of phone calls so that you can really anticipate how the conversation is going to flow, what you need to be thinking about next and what you should expect.

So are you ready to join me?

I just want to take a few seconds here to give a little shout-out to the members of Hey Lady! who are watching today.

Hey ladies! It’s great to see you here!

If you haven’t heard yet, Hey Lady! is our online community helping women to succeed in English. We make it easy and safe to meet new speaking partners and give you interesting topics to talk about together.

We have an amazing team of expert English coaches who encourage and support you at every step. It’s the perfect place to practise because you can make mistakes without feeling judged and make real progress even if you don’t have a lot of time to spare.

As long as your English level is intermediate or above, then your English is good enough to join the community. And if you sign up today you can experience everything we offer free for ten days. I’ve put the link down in the description below. Make sure you check it out and I hope to see you inside!

Tell me, do you feel nervous when you have to make a phone call in English? Like I said earlier, since we text and email each other so much picking up the phone has become kind of rare and I think that’s why it can be quite intimidating.

We don’t get a lot of opportunities to practise this skill. It’s also the unknown.

What are they gonna say? What if you don’t understand them or you can’t hear them very well? What if they don’t understand you and you can’t see the other person that you’re talking to so you’re missing out on some of those important social cues like facial expressions and gestures.

It’s like having a conversation blindfolded. All you have to rely on are your ears, your listening skills being prepared for your phone call can help to take some of the fear away.

So in this lesson, we’re going to practise calling the bank together and you’re going to learn some of the exact phrases and the expressions and the questions that are used in this situation.

So first you’ll call me, I’m the bank. I’m going to answer the phone and you’ll respond but then we’re going to switch roles and so you’ll practise receiving the call.

And after that, you can listen to me do the whole conversation, okay? Are you ready to speak on the phone?

Good morning, welcome to mmmBank.
My name is Emma. How can I help you this morning?
No problem, Aziz. Can I have your customer number, please?
Okay, bear with me I’m just pulling up your account now.
Can you please confirm your full name and date of birth?
Thank you for that, Aziz.
So you want to activate your online banking, is that right?
No problem, I can sort that out for you.
Can I have your mobile number and your email address, please?
Yes, please.
Sorry, did you say A or R?
A for apple. Thanks.
Great, thank you.
I’m gonna send through an activation code now.
Please stay on the line while I send it.
Did you receive a text message?
Great.
So when you log into your online banking portal just put in the activation code and then change your password.
Sure.
So you need to log into your online banking portal. It’s a secure place where you do your online banking. First you put in the unique code that I sent you and then you change your password.
Is there anything else I can help you with?
No worries, have a great day.

Did you notice some new and interesting expressions in that dialogue? I’ve explained them in a little more detail over on the mmmEnglish website so if you’re interested in exploring them, in diving a little deeper into some of these expressions the link to the mmmEnglish website is down in the description below. You can check it out anytime.

But now let’s switch places because this time I’m going to call you and you’re the bank.

Hello! My name is Aziz. I’m calling because I need to activate my internet and my phone banking.
Yes, of course.
My customer number is six zero five nine double seven.
Yes, my full name is Aziz Khan and my date of birth is the 20th of November 1989.
Yes, that’s correct.
Okay. So my mobile number is zero four nine one five seven zero triple one and my email address is aziz_khan89@mail.com.
Do you want me to spell it?
A.
Sorry, A for apple.
Yes, A, Z, I for ice cream. Z underscore K, H, A, N and then the number 89 @mail.com.
Okay.
Hang on, I’ll check.
Yes, I got it.
Sorry, I didn’t catch that you said online banking something?
Can you please repeat it?
Ah, okay. That’s clear now. Thanks.
No, thank you, that’s all.
I appreciate your help. Bye!
Great work!

And now I want you to listen to me do the whole thing so that you can really experience the full flow of that conversation.

Banker: Good morning! Welcome to mmmBank. My name is Emma. How can I help you this morning?
Aziz: Hello, my name is Aziz. I’m calling because I need to activate my internet and my phone banking.
Banker: No problem, Aziz. Can I have your customer number, please?
Aziz: Yes, of course. My customer number is six zero five nine double seven.
Banker: Okay bear with me. I’m just pulling up your account now. Can you please confirm your full name and date of birth?
Aziz: Yes my full name is Aziz Khan and my date of birth is the 20th of November 1989.
Banker: No problem. Thank you for that Aziz. So you want to activate your online banking, is that right?
Aziz: Yes, that’s correct.
Banker: No problem. I can sort that out for you. Can I have your mobile number and your email address, please?
Aziz: Okay so my mobile number is zero four nine one five seven zero triple one. And my email address is aziz_khan89@mail.com. Do you want me to spell it?
Banker: Yes, please.
Aziz: A.
Banker: Sorry did you say A or R?
Aziz: Oh sorry. A for apple.
Banker: A for apple. Thanks.
Aziz: Yes, A, Z, I for ice cream, Z underscore K, H, A, N and then the number 89 @mail.com.
Banker: Great. Thank you I’m gonna send through an activation code now. Please stay on the line while I send it.
Aziz: Okay.
Banker: Did you receive a text message?
Aziz: Hang on, I’ll check. Yes, I got it!
Banker: Great, so when you log into your online banking portal just put in the activation code and then change your password.
Aziz: Sorry, I didn’t catch that. You said online banking something? Can you please repeat it?
Banker: Sure. So you need to log into your online banking portal. It’s a secure place where you do your online banking. First you put in the unique code that I sent you and then you change your password.
Aziz: Okay, that’s clear now. Thanks!
Banker: Is there anything else I can help you with?
Aziz: No thank you, that’s all.
Banker: No worries. Have a great day!
Aziz: I appreciate your help. Bye!

Well, that’s it! Thank you for joining me today. I really hope that you enjoyed this lesson and that you feel confident about making phone calls and about giving information over the phone in English.

I’ve got lots of lessons to do with giving and receiving phone calls in English coming up on the mmmEnglish Channel so make sure you subscribe, make sure you turn on notifications so I can let you know as soon as that new lesson is here for you.

And if you want to keep practising your English speaking skills with me in a dialogue just like I did in this lesson with you, you can check out this lesson right here.

I’ll see you in there!