It can be quite absurd to be asked who is talking on a phone. It shouldn’t be but it will definitely feel so when you are calling a close friend.
You expect him or her to have your number saved already… or at least know your voice dearly. Not many of us are bothered about this but some others are.
Even if you don’t mind, the other person minds so you may want to hesitate to ask who is talking to you on the phone.
If you are here for the right answers, you have found the right article for you. One of the best ways to ask who is talking on a phone is to say ‘I lost some of my contacts.
I don’t know who I’m speaking with’. It is not a question but it definitely passes the message you want it to.
To avoid pissing people off with this question on a phone call, you have to adhere to the following recommendations;
- Listen first.
- Try to guess who it is with the voice you are hearing.
- Ask who it is, politely
- Mention that the number is not saved.
- You can give reasons (If you lost some contacts recently)
- Say you will save the number, once he/she gives a name (if it is someone you know)
20 Polite Ways to Ask Who Is calling
- May I know who this is?
- I still don’t know who I’m talking to.
- Do I know you?
- I’m sorry but I’m not familiar with this voice.
- You sound familiar but I can’t guess who this is.
- I will be glad if you share your name with me, please.
- Please, I have no idea who this is
- May I know your name, please?
- Do we know each other? You sound pretty familiar.
- Please, who am I speaking to?
- What is your name, please?
- I’m finding it hard to guess who this is.
- Do you mind telling me who you are?
- I would love to know who I’m speaking with.
- This voice doesn’t sound familiar.
- Please, is this someone I know?
- Who is calling, please? I lost my contacts recently
- Have we met?
- I don’t have this number saved. Who is this, please?
- Help me out. I can’t guess who this is.
May I know who this is?
You can ask this question directly but it is more suitable for a business call. It may sound pretty weird if you are saying this to a friend but it still works out.
The use of ‘May’ will make you sound polite, especially on a business call. In most business calls, it is essential to ask for the name.
Treating the request like an order may seem very rude to the client so it is important to use polite words to make the demand. ‘May’ is one of the polite words to consider.
I still don’t know who I’m talking to
You can say this if the conversation has gone far already. You may already be in the conversation before realizing you just may be messing up.
Talking to strangers is not exactly a good idea so you may want to fix that by asking for the name in the middle of the conversation.
This is not phrased like a question but it definitely asks the question you need it to. It is like saying ‘I can’t find my charger’.
Of course, that indirectly asks the people around you for hints to where your charger may be. The same applies in this case.
The person will definitely tell you who he or she is or give hints to you, at least.
Do I know you?
You can say this after a person has introduced himself or herself and it still seems strange. You may not know the name that has been given to you so you’ll wonder where you may know this strange person.
The person can then give more description of how you both may have met. There is also a chance you don’t know who it is but the person knows who you are. It may be someone from social media.
It may also be someone from an organization, calling random customers.
I’m sorry but I’m not familiar with this voice
You can say this if a person has asked you to guess who he or she is. In this case, the person has almost no reason to be pissed with you unless you are being intentionally rude or dismissive.
The person already knows that you can’t have his or her number saved. That explains why he or she has asked you to take a guess.
Since you are not expected to know who the speaker is, you can directly ask who is talking to you.
You can say you are not familiar with the voice. This implies that you can’t guess since that is the only hint you are getting. You can also say this first.
You may have lost your contacts and you think it is one of your friends that is on the other side of the line. When you say this, you can also add that you lost your contacts.
With this, you will be telling the person to introduce himself or herself since you can’t guess who owns the voice.
You sound familiar but I can’t guess who this is
You can simply say this if you are sure you didn’t lose anyone’s number. You are quite sure it is not a stranger but you also know it is not someone close enough to be angry about you not having his or her number saved.
The person may have asked you to guess who it is. You can say this in response. The person may also not say anything about you guessing his or her identity.
He or she can just keep greeting and talking to you, expecting you to know who it is from just the voice. You can still ask this question.
This statement is a good one to avoid seeming dismissive. This is because you acknowledge the person’s voice. You are affirming that it is someone you know but you just can’t say who exactly it is.
I will be glad if you share your name with me, please.
You can give this direct statement if the person is talking professionally. The person is most likely a total stranger.
You shouldn’t talk to strangers, remember, so you will definitely want to ask who it is.
The use of ‘Please’ is great since it may make you sound polite. However, it doesn’t necessarily sound polite. A person can say ‘Please’ and still sound very rude.
To make sure you are not sounding rude, you should control how you sound and make sure you are not talking too quickly. It should also help to put ‘Please’ before the original statement.
Please, I have no idea who this is
Here, ‘Please’ is already in front so there is a high chance of you sounding polite to the speaker. However, it is still dependent on how you sound.
This statement also isn’t phrased like a question but it tells the person that you want to know who is speaking.
It is indirectly asking the person to introduce himself or herself.
May I know your name, please?
Just like the first suggestion on this list, this sounds more suitable for a business call. You should also only say this if it is someone you definitely don’t know.
Instead of asking for a person’s name, you can ask ‘who’ it is and the person introduces himself or herself in the way he or she expects you to understand.
However, if you are asking from an unknown caller who is a friend, it may sound very rude.
If the unknown caller says you don’t know him on her, then you can ask for the name.
Do we know each other? You sound pretty familiar
You can ask this question if the call is coming from someone you are not supposed to know.
Of course, this would sound pretty absurd if it is someone you know. There are high chances that whoever calls you knows you because he or she most likely got your number from you.
However, if you have a feeling it is someone you don’t know, you can ask this question to be sure of it.
You may be talking to a representative of a business. It is quite rare to know customer service representatives but it is still very possible. You can ask this pretty weird question.
Please, who am I speaking to?
You shouldn’t have to ask for a person’s identity on a phone, as mentioned earlier. If it is a stranger, the person is supposed to introduce himself or herself so the conversation does not sound like gibberish to you.
You can ask this question if the person has continued talking without doing any introduction.
What is your name, please?
This is a weird question for someone you may know. If you are having a personal call, it is better to use questions that sound less formal and a bit more polite. Although this uses ‘Please’, it sounds too formal.
To make it sound less formal when talking to a person you may know, you can just point out that you don’t know who is talking.
I’m finding it hard to guess who this is.
If the person continues talking to you without an introduction, you can try to guess who it is from the voice. You may even be able to tell who it is from what he or she is saying to you.
If you can’t guess, then you can say this to him or her.
It is already polite but you can make it even more polite by adding ‘Sorry’.
Do you mind telling me who you are?
You should use this when talking to a stranger who has refused to introduce himself or herself. There are cases when you are just very sure that it is a stranger that you are talking to. The person may even make it very clear to you.
This question will be very suitable then. The stranger may choose not to say a name but a rude question wouldn’t have done any better than this.
I would love to know who I’m speaking with.
A person can start a conversation without any form of greeting. It is very possible. Sometimes, the question is asked so quickly that you feel it may be an emergency so you just give the answer.
The person may also have simply asked for your name, you can say this before answering any of his or her questions.
This voice doesn’t sound familiar
If it is someone asking you to guess who it is, you can only guess with the person’s voice, unless he or she gives you other hints.
You can point out that you are not getting any hints from the voice.
Please, is this someone I know?
You can ask this question when it’s a strange number calling you and the person is not chatting like you know each other. You may want to ask to be sure it’s not someone you may have met.
Who is calling, please? I lost my contacts recently
This is a good one, as it gives the reason why you don’t know who is speaking. It could be a friend or a stranger but you’ll still be safe.
If it is a friend, you already have your reason for not having the number saved. If it is a stranger, you don’t even need an excuse.
Have we met?
While you are guessing whom you are talking with on a phone, you can ask this question. The person may tell you just where you met each other and you can guess who the person is.
I don’t have this number saved. Who is this, please?
Whether it is a friend or not, this question should get you the answer you need, unless your old friend wants you to guess who it is.
Since you have acknowledged that you don’t have the number saved, you may not be expected to know who it is.
However, the person may have given you his or her number earlier. In that case, you must have a good excuse for not having the number saved.
Help me out. I can’t guess who this is
You can give this response when the person tells you to guess. Don’t say this too quickly. You may just guess right from listening closely to the voice.
Also, you don’t want to sound dismissive to the person. It could be anyone.