JEver pick up the office phone and realize the caller isn’t even asking for you?有沒有接起公司電話，才發現對方根本不是要找你？
MThat little pause right before you’re not sure what to say next is exactly what we’re untangling today.那個「不知道接下來該說什麼」的小空白，就是我們今天要拆解的重點。
JI’m Jason, and today’s dialogue follows Amy, who answers the phone at her company and ends up taking a message for a coworker.我是 Jason，這集要跟著 Amy，她在公司接起電話，最後要幫同事留言（message）。
MI’m Mary, and the caller is David, looking for Amy’s colleague Lisa, who happens to be in a meeting at the moment.我是 Mary，來電者（caller）是 David，他要找 Amy 的同事 Lisa，剛好 Lisa 正在開會。
JAmy opens with a full formula — “Good morning, Bright Design, this is Amy speaking. How may I help you?”Amy 一開口就是完整公式——「早安，這裡是向陽設計，我是 Amy。有什麼我可以幫忙的嗎？」
MCompany name, then “this is [name] speaking” — that combo instantly sounds professional, without ever sounding stiff or robotic.公司名稱加上「this is [名字] speaking」，這個組合聽起來馬上就很專業，又不會生硬像機器人。
JIn Taiwan, picking up the phone often starts with just a simple, unnamed hello, but English offices almost always expect a name attached right away.在台灣，接電話常常一開口就是一句招呼，不會特別報名字，但英文的辦公室幾乎都會期待你馬上報上身份。
MSkipping that opening line isn’t wrong exactly, but it can leave a caller wondering if they even dialed the right number.省略這句開場白不算錯，但會讓對方懷疑自己是不是打錯電話了。
JDavid asks for Lisa, so before checking anything, Amy needs to find out exactly who’s calling first.David 說要找 Lisa，所以 Amy 在確認之前，得先搞清楚對方是誰。
MWait — she asks even though David’s clearly about to introduce himself anyway?等等——David 明明就要自我介紹了，她還是要問？
JBasically, yes. “May I ask who’s calling?” is the standard line, and it’s worlds gentler than a blunt “Who are you?”差不多是這樣沒錯。「May I ask who’s calling?」（請問是哪位？）是標準說法，比直接問「你是誰」客氣太多了。
MRight — “Who are you” can sound almost like an accusation in English, even when nobody actually means it that way.對，「Who are you」在英文裡聽起來幾乎像在質問，即使講的人完全沒有那個意思。
JDavid answers, “This is David, from Sunrise Marketing,” and Amy responds, “Hold on, please. Let me check if she’s at her desk.”David 回答：「我是 David，朝陽行銷這邊的。」Amy 接著說：「請稍等（hold on），我看看她在不在座位上。」
M“Hold on, please” is your all-purpose phrase — checking a desk, grabbing a file, anything that needs a short pause.「Hold on, please」是萬用句——不管是確認座位、去拿個檔案，任何需要短暫停頓的時候都能用。
JDavid does his part too — “Sure, take your time” is a polite, low-pressure way to respond to any short hold.David 也很上道——「Sure, take your time」（好，你慢慢來）是回應等候時，很有禮貌又不給壓力的說法。
MRight — phone politeness isn’t only the person answering; a relaxed caller makes the whole call feel smoother for everyone.對，電話禮貌不是只有接電話的人要做到，來電者放輕鬆，整通電話也會順暢很多。
JWhen Amy comes back, notice she doesn’t just launch into the bad news — she opens with “Thanks for waiting” first.Amy 回來的時候，注意她沒有直接講壞消息，而是先說一句「Thanks for waiting」（謝謝你等候）。
MThat’s a nice buffer too. It acknowledges the pause before delivering any news, good or bad.這也是一個很好的緩衝，先肯定對方等待的時間，不管接下來要講的是好消息還是壞消息。
JTurns out Lisa’s tied up in a meeting, so Amy has to break the news without sounding like she’s brushing David off entirely.結果 Lisa 正在開會，Amy 得想辦法講出這件事，又不讓 David 覺得被隨便打發。
MShe goes with “She’s not available right now” instead of a flat “She’s not here.” Same fact, much softer landing.她選擇說「She’s not available right now」（她現在不方便接電話），而不是直接說「她不在」，同一件事，聽起來卻溫和很多。
J“Not here” can land almost dismissively in English, like the caller’s being waved away without much thought.「Not here」在英文裡聽起來幾乎有點隨便打發人的感覺，好像對方被隨手揮走一樣。
M“Available” keeps things professional — it just says she’s occupied right now, not that anyone’s ignoring the call on purpose.「Available」聽起來就專業多了——單純表示她現在很忙，不是誰故意不理這通電話。
JOne more thing about “not available” — tone matters just as much as the words themselves when you’re saying it.關於「not available」還有一點——講的語氣跟講的內容一樣重要。
MTrue — say it flat and it can sound cold, but say it warmly and it just sounds like normal office life.沒錯——語氣平淡講起來會顯得冷淡，但用溫暖的語氣講，聽起來就只是辦公室日常而已。
JAmy then hands David a real choice — “I can transfer you to her extension,” or he can leave a message with her instead.Amy 接著給 David 一個真正的選擇——「我可以幫你轉接（transfer）到她的分機（extension）」，或是他也可以直接跟 Amy 留言。
MGiving the caller options, rather than deciding for them, is such a small habit, but it completely changes the tone of a call.把選擇權交給來電者，而不是幫他決定，是個很小的習慣，卻能完全改變一通電話的感覺。
JExtensions, by the way, are almost always said digit by digit in English — “two-oh-five,” not “two hundred and five.”順帶一提，分機號碼在英文裡幾乎都是一個數字一個數字唸——像「two-oh-five」，而不是唸成完整的「兩百零五」。
MThat’s a small detail, but saying a whole number instead can genuinely confuse someone jotting down a phone extension quickly.這是個小細節，但如果唸成一整串數字，真的會讓正在匆忙抄分機號碼的人搞混。
JDavid picks the message route, so Amy asks the classic combo — “Can I have your name and number?”David 選擇留言，於是 Amy 問了經典的組合句——「可以給我你的姓名和電話嗎？」
MAnd she doesn’t stop there — she double-checks everything with “Could you spell your last name for me?”她還不只這樣——她又用「Could you spell your last name for me?」（可以幫我拼一下你的姓嗎？）再次確認。
JSmart move, honestly. Names like Chen or Lin get misheard on the phone constantly, so spelling saves a headache later.講真的，這招很聰明。像 Chen 或 Lin 這種姓，電話裡常常會聽錯，先拼一次可以省掉之後一堆麻煩。
MThis is a spot Taiwanese speakers often skip, since in Mandarin you’d basically never need to spell a surname out loud.這是台灣人很容易漏掉的一步，因為中文講姓氏根本不需要一個字一個字拼出來。
JIn English, though, spelling a name out is completely normal phone etiquette — nobody thinks it’s rude for you to ask.但在英文裡，把名字拼出來是很正常的電話禮儀，沒有人會覺得你這樣問很沒禮貌。
MGood reminder — spelling things out is efficient, not impolite, so don’t hesitate to ask a caller for it.這個提醒很重要——拼字是為了效率，不是沒禮貌，遇到需要就大方問對方吧。
JThese phrases aren’t just for landlines either — the exact same lines work perfectly on a work cell phone or through a headset.這些句子也不是只能用在市內電話上——用在公司手機，或是耳機通話上，一樣完全適用。
MTrue, “May I ask who’s calling?” sounds just as natural whether it’s a desk phone or a call routed through an app.沒錯，「May I ask who’s calling?」不管是用桌上電話，還是透過某個 App 轉接進來的電話，聽起來都一樣自然。
JDavid even asks when Lisa will be back, and Amy tells him she should be back sometime this afternoon.David 甚至問了 Lisa 大概什麼時候會回來，Amy 說她下午應該就會回來了。
MBefore hanging up, Amy promises, “I’ll let her know you called” — your go-to closing line for any message you take.掛電話前，Amy 保證：「I’ll let her know you called」（我會轉告她你有打來過）——這是幫忙留言時最好用的收尾句。
JIt’s short, but it tells the caller their message won’t just disappear into some random notepad on a desk.這句話很短，但能讓對方知道，這則留言不會就這樣消失在某張隨手記的便條紙上。
MOne habit worth locking in — never say a flat “Wait a moment” like it’s a command aimed at the caller.有個習慣值得記起來——別對著來電者直接說一句「Wait a moment」，聽起來像在下命令。
JAdd “please,” and the whole thing softens instantly — “Hold on, please” and “One moment, please” both work perfectly well.只要加上「please」，整句話馬上就變得柔和——「Hold on, please」或「One moment, please」都很適合用。
MAnother handy version is “I’ll have her get back to you” — same idea as “let her know,” just framed around a future callback.還有一個好用的說法是「I’ll have her get back to you」（我會請她回電給你），意思跟「轉告她」差不多，只是換成之後回電的角度。
J“Get back to you” pops up everywhere in English, not just on the phone — emails, messages, basically any promise to reply later.「Get back to you」這個片語到處都會出現，不只電話，email、訊息，只要是承諾之後回覆，都可以用。
MAnd if a caller ever just wants to know when someone’s reachable, you can always ask, “What’s the best time to reach you?”如果來電者只是想知道什麼時候聯絡得到某人，你也可以問：「What’s the best time to reach you?」（什麼時候找你最方便？）
JThat phrase works even outside the office — checking with a friend, coordinating a delivery, anything where timing matters.這句話在辦公室以外也很好用——跟朋友約時間、確認送貨時間，任何需要喬時間的場合都可以用。
MLet’s hear Amy and David’s entire call from the very top now.我們現在從頭完整聽一次 Amy 和 David 的這通電話。
🔁 [DIALOGUE REPLAY] 重播情境對話
JCatch it that time — the caller ID question, the hold, the softer “not available,” and all the message details?這次都聽出來了嗎——問對方是誰、請稍等、比較委婉的「not available」，還有留言的細節？
MFive small moves, and suddenly you sound like someone who handles calls every day, not someone panicking mid-sentence.五個小動作，你聽起來就像每天在接電話的老手，而不是講到一半慌了手腳的人。
JYour homework — next time a caller’s asking for someone who’s out, try “May I take a message?” instead of a flat “She’s not here.”你的功課是——下次有人打來找不在的同事，試著說「May I take a message?」，而不是直接說「她不在」。
MAnd if you ever have to make a caller wait, remember — “Hold on, please” beats a bare “Wait a moment” every single time.還有，如果你需要請對方稍等，記得——「Hold on, please」永遠比光講一句「Wait a moment」來得好。
JSee you next time on MJ English!下次 MJ English 見！
