At the Office

Posted by MichikoNakamura Sat, 24 Nov 2007 19:12:40 GMT

ポッドキャスト

When you go to see somebody in an office, you should begin with a greeting such as "hi", "hello" or "good morning". Then ask for the person you want to see. Read these example sentences:

"Is Mr. Ward in?"

"May I see Mr. Ward?"

"I'd like to see Mr. Ward please"

"I have an appointment with Mr. Ward"

If it's a busy office, the secretary will ask you if you have an appointment.   What if you don't have an appointment?   This is what can happen. Read this short conversation.

Visitor: Hello, I'd like to see Yoko Kelley please.
Secretary: Is she expecting you?

Another way to check if someone has an appointment is by saying:

"Do you have an appointment?"

Read this next conversation:

Visitor: Hello, I'd like to see Yoko Kelley please.
Secretary: I'm sorry she's out right now. You just missed her.
Michael: When do you expect her back?
Michiko: She'll probably be back in an hour.

When a person leaves the office or place where they work, you mighthear these sentences.   Read these example sentences:

"She's out right now"

"She just stepped out"

"She's unavailable now"

When you hear these sentences, you might want to know when she will return to the office.   For example:

"When do you expect her back?"

Now, let's move on to telephone conversations that occur in the office. If you call an office, they may have several telephone lines so the secretary may put you on hold.

They might ask you these questions:

"Do you want to hold?"

or
"Do you want to wait?"

You may also hear:

"Please hold"

or
"Will you hold?"

Remember that "will you hold?" is a question so you should reply with a "yes" or a "no".   What if you call that person and they are out? Read this next conversation:

Michael: Hello, may I speak to Polly Matsumoto?
Michiko: I'm sorry, she's out. May I take a message?
Michael: Yes, please have her call Michael Depoe. My number is 599-0987.
Michiko: I'll give her the message. Bye.
Michael: Thank you bye.

Usually if someone is out, the secretary or receptionist will offer to take a message. For example:

"May I take a message?"

If the person that you are calling doesn't offer to take a message, you can ask to leave one.

The conversation may sound like this:

Michael: Hello, may I speak to Osamu Takada, please?
Secretary: I'm sorry he's not in.
Michael: May I leave a message?
Secretary: Sure.
Michael: Please tell him that Max is coming in tonight at 9:05
p.m. on China Airlines Flight 17.
Secretary: O.K. I got it.
Michael: Could you repeat it back to me?
Secretary: Max is coming in on China Airlines, flight 17, tonight at 9:05 p.m.
Michael: Right. This is a very important message, so could you make sure he gets it?
Secretary: Yes, don't worry.
Michael: Thanks.

If you want to give a message, you should use this sentence:

"May I leave a message?"

If you want to make sure the message is correct, you could ask the person to read it back to you. You could say:

"Could you repeat it back to me?"

or
"Can you read it back to me?"

People often leave important messages. In that case, you could say this sentence:

"This is a very important message, so could you make sure he gets it?"

Secretaries work hard every day so we should learn how to compliment them. On this day, people may recognize the secretaries and give them gifts or flowers. Read this next conversation that might sound like something from your office!

Michael: We really wouldn't be able to get anything done here without you.
Co-worker: I agree. On behalf of the entire office I'd like to say thank you for all your hard work. We really appreciate you!
Michiko: I don't really know what to say except, thank you everyone!

If you want to say something for everyone you can use the phrase:

"On behalf of the Jones company…. "

Other words that you can say to your secretary are:

"Thanks for your hard work"

and
"We appreciate you"

Read these example sentences:

"On behalf of the entire office, I'd like to say thank you for all your hard work"

"We wanted to show our appreciation by giving you this gift"



Now, let's move on to office supplies. One thing that you need a lot of in an office is supplies. Read this conversation between a boss and his employer and see if you can hear the supplies that are mentioned:

Boss: Where's the scotch tape?
Lady: In the second drawer.
Boss: I used the last piece. Is there any more?
Lady: No, we've run out of tape.
Boss: I also need some white out and paper clips.
Lady: I'll get them for you as soon as I put these scissors away.
Boss: May I borrow your pen?
Lady: Sure, here you are.
Boss: Do you have another one?   This one's almost dead.
Lady: Hmm, I don't know. There must be one around
here somewhere.
Boss: We need more supplies here. Is there anything else
that we're running short of?
Lady: Maybe we could use more staples.
Boss: Karen, please make sure that we have a good stock of office supplies at all times.
Lady: Yes, Mr. Rodgers.

Did you hear the office supplies in this conversation?
They were:

"scotch tape"   "white out"   "paper clips"   "scissors"   and   "pens".

In this conversation, the office ran out of scotch tape. To "run out" of something means that you have no more left. "To run short of" something means that you are low on that supply.

Read these example sentences:

"We've run out of computer paper"

"We're running short of paper clips"

In the conversation above, the boss mentioned that his pen was almost dead. When things become useless, you can use the word "dead". For example, pens and things with batteries such as a cars, flashlights and radios.   For example:

"This pen is almost dead"

Remember that "please" and "thank you" are very useful words to use in the office. Now, for our last conversation, we are going to learn about different kinds of workers.

Read this conversation:

Michiko: Where is Jim?
Michael: He's taking a nap in the conference room.
Michiko: He sure is lazy.
Michael: No, he's not, he has a migraine headache.
Michiko: Well he's a lot different than Bill.
Michael: Yeah, Bill is a conscientious, diligent worker.
Michiko:   Sometimes I think he's a workaholic.
Michael:   No, he knows how to have fun too.
Michiko: Anyway, both guys are great no matter what their works habits are.
Michael: I agree.

Bill was thought to be a good worker. Other words that were used to describe him were, diligent and conscientious.   For example:

"He is a conscientious, diligent worker"

Someone who doesn't work very hard is known as lazy. If the boss sees someone not working they might say "get back to work" or "stop goofing off."

Also, in the conversation, co-workers describe two people by saying, "Anyway, both guys are great no matter what their work habits are." This means that both of them are nice, even though they work differently.