How to introduce yourself in a formal German phone conversation

In a formal German phone conversation, a typical way to introduce yourself includes greeting, stating your name, and possibly mentioning your affiliation or the purpose of your call.

Here is a standard formal introduction example:

• Start with a polite greeting: “Guten Tag” or “Guten Morgen”
• Then say: “Mein Name ist” followed by your full name.
• Optionally, add your company or organization: “Ich rufe von” plus the company name.
• State the purpose briefly, e.g., “Ich möchte mit Herrn/Frau… sprechen” (I would like to speak with Mr./Ms…) or simply state the reason for the call.

Putting it together:
[“Guten Tag, mein Name ist Your Name. Ich rufe von [Company Name] an. Ich würde gerne mit Herrn/Frau [Last Name] sprechen.”]

Always use formal pronouns like “Sie” and titles like “Herr” or “Frau” to show respect. Politeness and clarity are key in formal German phone conversations.

This approach reflects business etiquette in German-speaking environments and aligns with typical professional communication practices. ^{2, 5}

References

• A New Aligned Simple German Corpus

• Forms of Address as Cross-Cultural Code-Switching: The Case of German and Danish in Higher Education

• MaiBaam Annotation Guidelines

• Linguistic Politeness and Greeting Rituals in German-speaking Switzerland

• SPEECH ACTS ON COMPANY’S PRESENTATION IN GERMAN FOR BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

• Using Indirect Speech In German: Czech Native Speakers’ Challenges