LESSON NOTES

American Business English for

Beginners S1 #19
Arriving to an Appointment and
Notifying the Receptionist

CONTENTS
2 American English
2 Vocabulary
2 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar
6 Cultural Insight

# 19
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 AMERICAN ENGLISH

1. RECEPTIONIST: Good evening.

2. LINDA: Good evening, I'm Linda Baker from Green &Blue. I have an
appointment with Mr. Handerson at five o'clock.

3. LINDA: We spoke over the phone earlier.

4. RECEPTIONIST: Yes, let me check. Please take a seat in the hall.

5. (few minutes later)

6. RECEPTIONIST: Mr. Handerson will be with you in a few minutes. Would you like
something to drink?

7. LINDA: No, thank you.

VOCABULARY

V oc abular y English C lass

to check (American) to confirm, to look at verb

to take (American) to have, to obtain verb

seat (American) a chair, a place to sit noun

a corridor or passageway in
hall (American) a building noun

few (American) not many adjective

an unknown or unidentified
something (American) thing pronoun

SAMPLE SENTENCES

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Have you checked all the possible Have you checked all the possible
options? hideouts of the villain?

I checked the neighbor's yard, but the cat These newspapers are free, so please take
wasn't there. one.

Everybody, please take your seats. Please wait in the hall.

Please leave your coat in the hall. There are only a few days left until the
deadline.

I think I've forgotten something.

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

"appoint ment "

This is a noun that means a scheduled meeting with someone.

We don't use "appointment" for casual meetings, for example, we wouldn't say we have an
"appointment" with our friends. It is used for meetings, and also visits to the doctor's office
and things like that.

For example:

1. "He overslept and missed his appointment."

"t o t ake a seat "

The first word is "to take," which means "to obtain." "Seat" means a chair, or something else
you can sit on.

Although "to take" usually means to get or obtain something, in this case it means only

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temporarily. "To take a seat" means the same as "to sit down."

We don't use "take" with specific seats, such as "chair." If someone said "take a chair," it
would mean pick up a chair and take it somewhere, not sit down.

For example:

1. "Please take a seat while you are waiting."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is How t o T ell a Recept ionist about an Appoint ment

"Yes, let me check. Please t ake a seat in t he hall."

1. How t o Explain You Have an Appoint ment

There will be times where you have to visit another company or go to places like a doctor or
dentist's office. Usually, you need to make an appointment in advance to do this. Make sure
that you arrive at least five to ten minutes early for your appointment. When you arrive, you
will probably be greeted by a receptionist, and you should tell the receptionist that you have
an appointment.

The two main things to remember are that when you talk about time, you use the preposition
"at" - "at three o'clock," "at ten a.m."

When you talk about people, you use the preposition "with" - "with Mr. Baker," "with Ms.
Smith."

You can start the sentence with "I have an appointment."

Pat t er n 1 - [I have an appoint ment ] + [at ] + [t ime] + [wit h] + [per son]

Pat t er n 2 - [I have an appoint ment ] + [wit h] + [per son] + [at ] + [t ime]

It doesn't matter if you say the time or person first.

You should also start the sentence by saying "Excuse me."

Examples:

1. "Excuse me, I have an appointment at ten a.m. with Mr. Baker."

2. "Excuse me, I have an appointment at three o'clock with Ms. Smith."

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2 . How t o T ake Car e of a Visit or

Although it is usually a receptionist that looks after visitors, that isn't always the case, so you
should still be prepared in case you are asked to take care of someone.

If you are their first contact in the company, then you should start by welcoming them to the
building and asking if they need help.

Example

1. "Welcome to the ABC Company, how may I help you?"

2. "Welcome to the ABC Company, what can I do for you today?"

3. "Welcome to the ABC Company, how may I be of assistance?"

The visitor will then tell you their name and the purpose of their visit. If they have an
appointment, you might need to check the details in an appointment book or on the
computer. If you need to do this, you should tell the visitor instead of just leaving them
standing in silence.

Examples:

1. "Please wait a moment while I check."

2. "Let me check the details, I won't be a moment."

After you have confirmed the appointment, the visitor will either be able to have their meeting
or have to wait.

First, let's look at telling the visitor to wait. You should tell the visitor that they have to wait,
and make sure that they are comfortable and relaxed. Some companies will have
refreshments on hand for visitors, so if that's the case, make sure to offer them.

Begin by telling them the person they have the appointment with will see them soon.

Examples.

1. "Mr. Baker will be with you in a moment."

2. "Mr. Baker will see you shortly."

3. "Mr. Baker will soon be with you."

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Then, make sure they are comfortable.

Examples

1. "Please take a seat."

2. "Please have a seat."

3. "Please sit down."

And if available, offer refreshments.

Examples

1. "Can I offer you anything to drink?"

2. "Would you like something to drink?"

3. "Do you want anything to drink?"

4. "Do you want a coffee?"

All together, you might get something like this:

"Mr. Baker will be with you in a moment, so please take a seat. Can I offer you anything to
drink?"

Examples fr om t he dialogue

1. "Mr. Handerson will be with you in a few minutes. Would you like something to
drink?"

Sample Sent ences

1. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

2. "Mr. Baker will only be a moment."

3. "Please have a seat in the waiting room."

CULTURAL INSIGHT

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Recept ionist J ob in t he U.S.

Receptionists have an important role in companies as they are often the first employee that
visitors have contact with. It is important that receptionists are well presented, professional
and polite, as they are the first people to greet and deal with clients when they arrive.
Receptionists also answer phone calls and arrange meetings, so they need to have good
organiz ation and people skills. They're also often asked to do various administrative tasks.
Personal assistants, also known as "PAs," have a similar role to a receptionist, only instead of
greeting clients and organiz ing things for the company as a whole, PAs concentrate on one
senior member of staff.

Useful expr ession

1. "Please make an appointment with the receptionist."

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