Learn how to ask for a specific person on the phone in a business situation
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to GermanPod101.com. This is Business German for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 13 - How to Ask to For a Specific Person on the Phone in German. John Here. |
| Jennifer: Guten Tag! I'm Jennifer. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask to talk to somebody on the phone. The conversation takes over the phone. |
| Jennifer: It's between Linda Müller and a receptionist. |
| John: The speakers are a worker and receptionist, therefore, they will speak formal German. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Rezeptionist: Delta GmbH, wie kann ich Ihnen weiterhelfen? |
| Linda Müller: Guten Morgen, mein Name ist Linda Müller. Ich arbeite für die Firma ABC als Community Managerin. Könnte ich bitte mit Herrn Schmitt sprechen? |
| Rezeptionist: Einen Moment, bitte. Würden Sie bitte Ihren Namen noch einmal wiederholen? |
| Linda Müller: Linda Müller von ABC. |
| Rezeptionist: Einen kleinen Augenblick bitte. |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Rezeptionist: Delta GmbH, wie kann ich Ihnen weiterhelfen? |
| Linda Müller: Guten Morgen, mein Name ist Linda Müller. Ich arbeite für die Firma ABC als Community Managerin. Könnte ich bitte mit Herrn Schmitt sprechen? |
| Rezeptionist: Einen Moment, bitte. Würden Sie bitte Ihren Namen noch einmal wiederholen? |
| Linda Müller: Linda Müller von ABC. |
| Rezeptionist: Einen kleinen Augenblick bitte. |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Receptionist: Delta Ltd, how can I help you? |
| Linda Müller: Good morning, my name is Linda Müller. I work for ABC as a community manager. Can I speak to Mrs. Smith? |
| Receptionist: Just a moment, please. Can you please repeat your name? |
| Linda Müller: Linda Müller, from ABC. |
| Receptionist: Hold on the line for a moment. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: In the conversation today, we heard a receptionist doing very stereotypical receptionist work. |
| Jennifer: Oh, you mean answering the phones? |
| John: Yeah, it’s an important job, so do you have any tips for making or receiving business phone calls in Germany? |
| Jennifer: If you’re answering the phone, you should say the name of the company when you answer. |
| John: Right, and if you make the call, you also need to say who you are and what company you’re from. |
| Jennifer: You should use formal German. But, if you are a customer then informal German is okay. |
| John: If you’re calling a business, you might be interrupting work, so you should get to the point quickly. |
| Jennifer: That’s true. You can say Ich rufe an wegen.... And then give the reason for your call. |
| John: That means “I called because…” |
| Jennifer: Keep your sentences short and avoid long calls. |
| John: What should you do at the end of the call? |
| Jennifer: You can sum up the main information. If you received the call, you could end it with something like Vielen Dank für den Anruf. |
| John: “Thank you for your call.” Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Jennifer: GmbH [natural native speed] |
| John: Ltd |
| Jennifer: GmbH[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: GmbH [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: weiterhelfen [natural native speed] |
| John: to help along |
| Jennifer: weiterhelfen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: weiterhelfen [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: arbeiten [natural native speed] |
| John: to work |
| Jennifer: arbeiten[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: arbeiten [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: Moment [natural native speed] |
| John: moment |
| Jennifer: Moment[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: Moment [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: Augenblick [natural native speed] |
| John: (present) moment |
| Jennifer: Augenblick[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: Augenblick [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: bitte [natural native speed] |
| John: please |
| Jennifer: bitte[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: bitte [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Jennifer: klein [natural native speed] |
| John: small |
| Jennifer: klein[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: klein [natural native speed] |
| John: And last... |
| Jennifer: nochmal [natural native speed] |
| John: again |
| Jennifer: nochmal[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jennifer: nochmal [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Jennifer: der Augenblick |
| John: meaning "the moment." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Jennifer: Augenblick is made from augen, meaning "eyes," and Blick meaning "view." |
| John: This means “a moment.” How do you ask someone to wait if you need an extra moment or two? |
| Jennifer: Einen Augenblick bitte. |
| John: This means “a moment please.” |
| Jennifer: You can add klein if you just want a short moment. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Jennifer: Sure. For example, you can say, Ich brauche noch einen Augenblick. |
| John: ...which means "I need another moment." |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Jennifer: Einen Moment |
| John: meaning "one moment." What can you tell us about this word? |
| Jennifer: We use this word similarly to the previous phrase. |
| John: It can also be used to ask someone to wait for a moment, |
| Jennifer: Yes, you can say Einen Moment bitte. |
| John: “A moment please.” |
| Jennifer: You can use this in both formal and informal situations. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Jennifer: Sure. For example, you can say, Ich habe mich für einen Moment erschreckt. |
| John: ...which means "I was shocked for a moment." |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Jennifer: GmbH |
| John: meaning "Ltd." What can you tell us about this abbreviation? |
| Jennifer: The full version of this is Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung. |
| John: It means “a private limited company.” |
| Jennifer: A GmbH is a corporation and it represents a legal person. |
| John: What other types of companies are there? |
| Jennifer: There are also AG, which stands for Aktiengesellschaft. This means “stock company” and is used for larger companies. |
| John: Can you give us an example using Ltd.? |
| Jennifer: Sure. For example, you can say, Die GmbH ist eine Gesellschaft. |
| John: ...which means "The Ltd. is a company." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask to talk to somebody on the phone. First, how do you introduce yourself? |
| Jennifer: In the conversation, Linda said Guten Morgen, mein Name ist Linda Müller. Ich arbeite für die Firma ABC als Community Managerin. |
| John: “Good morning, my name is Linda Müller. I work for ABC as a community manager.” |
| Jennifer: She started with a greeting, in this case Guten Morgen. Then she said mein Name ist Linda Müller. |
| John: “My name is Linda Muller.” This is her self-introduction. |
| Jennifer: Then she introduced the company she works: Ich arbeite für die Firma… Finally she states her occupation with als. |
| John: Is there another way to introduce yourself formally? |
| Jennifer: You can say ABC, Linda Müller, Guten Tag! |
| John: “ABC, Linda Müller, Good Morning.” How about for informal calls? |
| Jennifer: You can say Hier spricht Linda or just Hallo, Linda hier. |
| John: Those are “Here is Linda” and “Hello, Linda here.” |
| Jennifer: To speak with someone, you can say Könnte ich bitte mit Herrn Schmitt sprechen? |
| John: “Could I please speak with Mr Smith?” |
| Jennifer: The subjunctive Könnte, meaning “could,” is very helpful when constructing a polite sentence. |
| John: Do you have another example using “could?” |
| Jennifer: Könnten Sie mich bitte an Frau Müller weiterleiten? |
| John: "Could you please pass this on to Mrs. Müller?" |
| Jennifer: During phone calls, it’s important to show willingness to listen. |
| John: Yes, if someone is speaking to you, you shouldn’t just be silent. You can make listening noises. In English, these are things such as “hm.” |
| Jennifer: We also use Hm, in German. |
| John: Really? What other things can be said? |
| Jennifer: Ja, ich verstehe |
| John: “Yes, I understand.” |
| Jennifer: Or how about Stimmt. |
| John: which means “Right.” Try to establish a common understanding of the issue to succeed with positive results. |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Jennifer: Auf Wiedersehen! |
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