Telephoning practice II

Dealing with the public on the phone can be a real race against time. Two calls waiting, three calls coming in, and one caller who just won’t hang up. It’s a lot of stress. Making conversations “short but sweet” can be hard but not completely impossible. Phrasal verbs can shorten things up nicely without making you sound too abrupt. Phrasal verbs are good for those snappy confirmations about things you’ve just talked about, or whose context is clear. The problem, though, is that silly preposition; one false choice in this, and your intended meaning goes off in the wrong direction. So imagine you’re at your help line. Your first customer rings in with a problem. Do you feel “up” to the challenge, or just “down and out?” Here we go…