Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

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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