1. Excuse me, but I don’t believe I asked you what your name is. Could you, please, tell me your name? – The customer might interrupt you and tell you his or her name before you get to “could you ….”.

2. Oh… your name. I don’t believe I have your name. Can you tell me your name, please?

3. Just one thing before we continue, please. I don’t know your name. Could you tell me your name, please?

4. Oh by the way, I know you know my name is Jouhari, but I don’t believe I know your name. What is your name?

What should I say if I forget someone's name? You could say this: I’m sorry, but I can’t recall your name. I speak to so many people. Could you, please, tell me your name once again?

1.    Hang on a minute. I've got to take a call. - This is informal, casual, and direct.

2.    Hold on for just a minute. I have to take this call. - This is also informal, casual, and direct.

3.    Excuse me. I have to take this call. I'll be just one minute. - This is a little more polite.

4.    Could I ask you to wait just one minute, please? I have to answer this call. - This is more polite, less casual, and less direct.

5.    I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have to answer this call. Could you, please, wait just one minute? Thank you. - This is more polite, less casual, and less direct.

Being unsure of whether or not you understood what someone meant

 

Not having any idea of what someone said or meant

 

What can you say when you have no idea what someone means or no idea what someone is talking about? Here are some things you could say: I don't understand you at all. What are you talking about? That doesn't make sense to me. I have no idea what you mean. Yes, those are possibilities; however, those aren't the best things you could say. Here are some better ways to tell someone you have no idea what they mean or what they are talking about.

1) I'm having a hard time following you on this. Can you back up and start again, please?
2) I don't get what you mean. Can you go over that again, please?
3) I'm having some trouble understanding. Can you, please, explain this once again?
4) I'm not clear on this. Could you, please, explain this again?
5) I hate to be difficult, but I don't know what you mean. Could you, please, tell me, once again, what you are saying?
6) I'm having a difficult time understanding this. Could I, please, trouble to explain this once again?

Knowing or feeling that someone didn’t understand you

 

Here are a few ways to tell someone you want to explain something again because you know, or feel, that they did not understand you or did not understand you well enough.

1) That's not exactly what I mean. I'd like to explain it again.
2) Okay, perhaps, I didn't explain it well enough. Here's what I mean.
3) I should explain this once again to be sure we're on the same page.
4) Oh, no, this is my fault for not being clear enough. Here's what I mean.
5) That's not exactly what I had in mind. Could I explain this once again, please?
6) I wouldn't say that. I should clarify this better. Okay, ...
7) Mmm ... Would it be all right if I explained this again? I don't think I explained it well enough.
8) Oh, yes, that's true, but it's not quite what I was getting at. What I reallly mean is that ....

Agreeing - Heartily and enthusiatically agree. Tactfully and gently disagree.

 

Agreement: If someone says something that you agree with, heartily let them know you agree. You should adjust your level of enthusiasm to suit the context and situation. Nevertheless, here are some suggestions that, along with the right tone of voice, will allow you to heartily express your agreement with what your conversation partner said.

 

1) I completely agree with you on that.

2) I completely agree.
3) You’re absolutely correct.
4) I could not have said it better myself.
5) You took the words right out of my mouth.
6) You hit the nail right on the head.
7) That is very well said.
8) Your idea: Think of your own phrases or come up with a variation on one or more of the phrases in this list.

Your idea: Think of something else you could day, or come up with a variation on one or more of the sentences starters in this list.

Listening is part of speaking. It’s important to let people know that you are listening.

 

1. Make eye contact with the person who is speaking. It doesn’t have to be continual, but don’t avoid it either. Look at the person who is speaking to you. It’s okay to look away, but look back again. Making eye contact shows that you are interested and sincere.

2. Nod your head slowly up and down to show that you hear and understand.

3. Tilt your head slightly to one side and appear to be somewhat serious. This might be a good idea if the person speaking is talking about something “serious”. It’s helpful to look like your thinking about what the other person is saying and that you understand what the he or she is saying.

4. Distance is important. If you are standing while conversing, be careful to maintain a proper distance. Generally speaking, too close is not good, but don’t’ stand back too far.

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1.    What do you think?

2.    What do you think we should do?

3.    Can you offer any suggestions?

4.    Do you have any ideas?  

 

There could be times that you want to soften a request for a suggestion or an opinion in order to lessen the chances that your listener, or listeners, will feel pressured. One’s tone of voice is important, and equally important is the tone of one’s words. The more words we use, the more polite and careful we tend to sound. However, it’s important to not overdo it. Here are a few ways to soften requests for opinions and suggestions. Notice that a request does not have to be in the form of a question, as a statement can imply that the person speaking is asking a question.

 

1.    Do you happen to have any ideas?

2.    I was wondering if you had any suggestions.

3.    Would you happen to have any suggestions?

4.    I was wondering what you might think.

5.    I was wondering what you thought about this.

6.    I was wondering if you could offer any suggestions.

7.    Would you happen to have any ideas about what we could do?  

 

1.    I was wondering … …

2.    Would you happen to … …?

3.    I was wondering if … …

4.    Would you happen to … … ?

Sincerely,

 

These are the three greatest comprehension challenges for non-native speakers of English:

 

1. unfamiliar expressions or figurative language
2. hypothetical language
3. fast-paced casual spoken English

 

This business dialog highlights examples of what could be challenging to a non-native English speaker in conversation. Expressions and phrases which may be unfamiliar to non-native speakers of English are underlined.

 

Jason is the Vice President of Operations. Bill is the Inbound and Outbound Traffic Manager.

Bill: If we implemented plan X instead of plan Y, how do you think that would affect our overseas shipments?

 

Jason: I can’t really say. Your guess is as good as mine. Unfortunately, I don’t have a crystal ball to tell me whether or not it would be a mistake.

 

Bill: Tell me about it. I wish we did have a crystal ball because I’m beginning to think that we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t. At least with a crystal ball we’d be able to know what the worst possible outcome could be.

 

Jason: Oh come on. It’s not that bad, Bill. We’ve got to stay focused. We just have to take the attitude that we’re going to do whatever it takes to make this happen. There’s simply no two ways about it.

 

Bill: You know, Jason, you’re a hundred percent correct. There’s no getting around it. All our shipments have to be out the door on schedule, including the overseas shipments. We can’t afford to let even just one deal fall through this quarter just because something didn’t ship on time. The sales department will never let us live it down – no matter what reason we have.  Once again, it’s plain to see why you’re the one that calls the shots around here.

 

Jason: Well, Bill, I may call the shots, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that we’re a team, and anything that we get done around here we get done because we’re a team.

 

Bill: Without teamwork, we wouldn’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell.

 

Jason: That’s right, Bill. Now, this manager is going to put his money where his mouth is and work with the assembly crew so that we’re ready to load that truck before it even backs up to the dock.

 

Bill: What time’s the truck supposed to be here?

 

Jason: It’s supposed to be here at 9:00 o’clock sharp tomorrow morning, but I want everything packed and ready to go before we leave tonight.

 

Bill: You’re going to need some coffee. I’d stay, but you know I have a flight to catch at 6:00 in the morning.

 

Jason: Bill, do you think you could make a coffee run before you head out of here? We ran out this afternoon, and we’re not expecting another delivery until Friday.

 

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