I'm Jason from ITI, TAITRA.

Welcome to Everyday English.

Today I'm going to talk to you about

how you can ask for someone on the telephone.

Many second language speakers of English

find it difficult talking on the phone,

and you may wonder how you can ask for someone

when you call somewhere.

Well, I'm happy to tell you it's much easier than it seems.

When you want to talk to someone on the phone,

there are some easy phrases you can use.

First, you can say, “May I speak with so and so?”

Let's see an example:

Cory: Hello.

Jason: Hello. May I speak with Cory please?

Cory: Speaking.

You can also say, “I'd like to speak with so and so.”

Let's see an example for this one.

Cory: Hello.

Jason: Hello. I'd like to speak with Chris, please.

Cory: Hold on. I'll put you through.

There's also one more phrase you can use

and that's "I'm trying to reach so and so."

Let's see how this one is used.

Cory: Hello.

Jason: Hello. I'm trying to reach Brent.

Cory: I'm sorry, but he's busy at the moment.

I hope this helps!

Thanks for watching.