Using English at Work：37 Scheduling a Meeting(2)（在线收听）

The vendor who calls me wants to set up a meeting for the following week.

"To set up a meeting" means to schedule or arrange a meeting, or to find a time when two or more people are available to meet.

You might set up a time to have lunch with a friend, or meet someone to fix your broken sink in your house - you'll set up a time.

The vendor called to set up a meeting with me for the following, or next week.

Since I was away from my desk at the time that she called, she left a voicemail message.

To be "away from your desk" means not to be in your office, maybe because you're having another meeting or you're taking a break.

Because I was away from my desk, I wasn't able to answer my phone when it rang, so the vendor left me a voicemail message.

When I get back to my desk, or return to my office, I retrieve the message and listen to it.

"To retrieve" means to get something, especially when we're talking about information that was stored on a computer or, in this case, in a voicemail system.

To retrieve a voicemail message, I have to call the voicemail system, enter my PIN (or personal identification number), and then I can listen to the recorded message.

Sometimes when you call someone in an office and they don't answer their phone, you may hear a message like this:

"I'm away from my desk right now. Please leave a message and I'll return your call when I get back."

That's a very common outgoing message.

"Outgoing," here, means that's what people will hear when they call you.

After listening to the vendor's message, then I return her call.

"To return someone's call" means to call someone back on the telephone after he or she has called you and left a message.

When people leave a message, they usually give their name, their telephone number, and the time they called.

I call the vendor twice, but she isn't there, meaning that she isn't answering her phone.

So I leave a voicemail message for her.

Now we're playing something we call "phone tag."