In a TOEIC Part 3 conversation, a speaker may reject one proposal, delay another action, and promise a follow-up—all within a few lines. If those decision states blur together, plausible answer choices become difficult to separate.
“The courier cannot guarantee a morning delivery, so let's not send the display today. I'll ask the venue whether someone can receive it on Saturday and get back to you by noon.”
The display has not been rejected. Shipping has been delayed while the speaker checks another possibility. The promised next step is to contact the venue and return with an answer.
ETS's current TOEIC Listening and Reading handbook says that in Part 3, Conversations, you hear conversations between two or more people. Three questions follow each conversation, and each question has four answer choices. In the paper-delivered directions, the conversations are not printed and are spoken once. Official sample questions ask about a caller's purpose, a problem, what someone asks or offers to do, and information combined with a graphic.
This lesson teaches recognition. You do not need to insert these expressions into an answer. You need to understand the status and action they signal. Continue in the TOEIC vocabulary hub or browse every exam path in Exam English.
Listen for a three-part action map
Most short workplace conversations can be reduced to:
- Purpose: Why did the interaction begin?
- Problem or decision: What changed, failed, remained unavailable, or was refused?
- Next step: Who will do what, and when?
Time words and verb aspect matter. We held off describes a delay already chosen. We should hold off proposes one. I'll follow through promises action but does not show it is complete.
Six phrasal verbs, six different moves
Touch base: make brief contact
To touch base with someone about/on something is to make brief, low-stakes contact to exchange an update or coordinate:
“I'll touch base with Facilities about room availability this morning.”
The phrase does not imply a formal meeting, deep discussion, decision, or completed solution. It can describe first contact or a later check-in. The form is fixed: touch base, not touch a base, touch bases, or touch base the manager.
Circle back: return after an intervening step
To circle back with someone or circle back on/to a topic is to return to prior business after a delay, dependency, or interruption:
“I'll check the inventory and circle back with you by two.”
Unlike touch base, it requires a meaningful return. It promises renewed attention or contact, not necessarily a decision or solution. A time, trigger, or deliverable makes the promise specific.
Rule out: remove an option or possibility
When you rule an option out, you remove it from consideration as impossible, unsuitable, or unavailable:
“The loading entrance is closed for repairs, so we can rule it out.”
The particle can follow a noun object: rule the entrance out. A pronoun must go inside the phrasal verb: rule it out, never rule out it. Cannot rule out a delay keeps the delay among the possibilities; it does not predict one.
Turn down: refuse an offer or request
To turn down an offer, request, invitation, or proposal is to decline it:
“The supplier turned down our request for a further discount.”
That does not necessarily end the relationship or all negotiation. Turn down also means reduce a setting, as in turn the volume down. The object and context determine the sense. With a pronoun, use turn it down.
Hold off on: delay an action
To hold off on + noun or gerund is to delay without deciding against the action:
“Let's hold off on ordering until we receive the revised dimensions.”
The order may still happen. Cancel closes it; hold off on postpones action and does not itself supply a new date. Listen for triggers such as until, once, and after.
Follow through on: honor an earlier commitment
To follow through on a promise, plan, or responsibility is to take the action needed to complete or honor it:
“Nora said she would call the carrier, and she followed through on that promise this morning.”
A follow-up may be no more than another contact or a request for information. Following through on something connects an earlier commitment to the action needed to honour it. If the speaker says I will follow through, completion is still future.
Understanding is only the first step.
Lyra Practice helps you retrieve and use high-value workplace expressions in realistic situations until they feel natural.
Start a practice session →Worked Part 3 conversation
The transcript and questions below are original practice. It is printed here so you can inspect the evidence; in the official listening task, the conversation itself is not printed.
Woman: Hi, Ravi. I'm calling about the display cases for Saturday's trade fair. The supplier turned down our request for delivery before eight because its warehouse opens at seven thirty.
Man: Then can we use the west entrance after nine?
Woman: No. The venue manager says construction has completely blocked that entrance, so we can rule it out. The south entrance is open, but no staff member is currently scheduled to receive deliveries there.
Man: In that case, let's hold off on dispatching the cases today. Could you touch base with the venue manager and ask whether someone can cover the south entrance on Saturday?
Woman: Sure. She is in a meeting now, but I'll call at eleven and circle back with you by noon. If she confirms coverage, I'll follow through on the booking with the supplier this afternoon.
Question 1: Why is the woman calling?
A. To report a delivery restriction B. To reject an invitation to a trade fair C. To request construction work D. To lower the price of display cases
Question 2: What problem do the speakers mention?
A. The supplier has cancelled every Saturday delivery. B. The west entrance is unavailable, and the south entrance has no receiver scheduled. C. The display cases are the wrong size. D. The venue manager has turned down the entire event.
Question 3: What will the woman most likely do next?
A. Dispatch the cases immediately B. Remove the supplier from consideration C. Contact the venue manager about staffing the south entrance D. Cancel the trade fair
Answer evidence
1. A, report a delivery restriction
The opening line names the subject, and the next sentence gives the restriction: the requested early delivery was refused. The woman is not declining the event herself, ordering construction, or negotiating price.
2. B, two access problems
The west entrance is completely blocked and therefore ruled out. The south entrance remains physically available but lacks a receiver. The speakers have not said all Saturday deliveries are cancelled, and the event itself remains active.
3. C, contact the venue manager
The man explicitly asks the woman to touch base with the manager, and she agrees to call at eleven. Her later promise to circle back with Ravi happens after that contact. Booking the supplier is conditional on coverage, so it is not the immediate next action.
The vocabulary map is precise:
- the supplier turned down one request;
- construction lets the team rule out one entrance;
- the team will hold off on dispatch;
- the woman will touch base with the manager;
- she will circle back with Ravi;
- if coverage is confirmed, she will follow through on the booking.
Six expressions describe six stages, not six ornamental ways to say “deal with it.”
Paraphrase the move, not the sound
TOEIC answers may not repeat the transcript's wording. Train these safe paraphrases:
| Heard language | Safe interpretation | Unsafe overreach |
|---|---|---|
| “They turned down our request.” | They refused that request. | They ended the business relationship. |
| “We can rule out the west entrance.” | That entrance is no longer an option. | Every entrance is unavailable. |
| “Let's hold off on dispatching.” | Delay dispatch; it may happen later. | Cancel the shipment permanently. |
| “I'll touch base with Mina.” | Make brief contact with Mina. | Hold a formal decision meeting. |
| “I'll circle back by noon.” | Return with contact or attention by noon. | Guarantee a solution by noon. |
| “I'll follow through on the booking.” | Take the action needed to honor/complete it. | The booking is already complete. |
This protects you from distractors that name a related but stronger action.
Track tense, condition, and sequence
Compare three versions:
“I followed through on the request.”
The action is presented as completed.
“I'll follow through on the request this afternoon.”
The speaker commits to future action; it has not happened yet.
“If the manager approves it, I'll follow through on the request.”
The future action is conditional. An answer saying the request has already been completed is too strong.
Now compare:
“We ruled Friday out.”
Friday is excluded.
“We can't rule Friday out.”
Friday remains possible. Missing can't reverses the decision state.
Common listening traps
- Same topic, wrong stage: an answer mentions delivery but confuses a delay with a cancellation.
- Same person, wrong action: the manager appears in the conversation, but the next step is to contact her, not meet her formally.
- True later, not next: circling back with Ravi is promised, but calling the manager comes first.
- One option becomes all options: ruling out the west entrance does not rule out the south entrance.
- Refusal becomes relationship damage: turning down one request does not imply ending the supplier relationship.
- Promise becomes completion: future will follow through is not evidence of a finished action.
- Familiar sound, wrong sense: turn down can mean reduce volume, but a delivery request cannot have its volume reduced.
Quick recognition check
1. “The hotel cannot host us on Tuesday, but Wednesday is still available.” What has been ruled out?
A. The hotel B. Tuesday C. Wednesday
2. “Don't place the order yet. We need the final quantities first.” Which action matches?
A. Turn down the order permanently. B. Hold off on placing the order. C. Follow through on the order now.
3. “I'll check the revised quote and get back to you at four.” Which interpretation is licensed?
A. The speaker will return to the matter after checking the quote. B. The speaker guarantees the quote will be accepted. C. The speaker has ruled the quote out.
Answers: 1 B, because only Tuesday is removed; 2 B, because the order is delayed pending information; 3 A, because the speaker promises to circle back, not to approve or reject the quote.
Fresh practice
Read the worked conversation aloud once or have someone read it to you. Hide the transcript and write four lines: purpose, problem, immediate next action, later conditional action. Then repeat with a new 90-second workplace dialogue of your own. Use the six expressions only if the decision state genuinely fits; in the exam, accurate recognition matters more than reproducing the phrase.
To practise workplace vocabulary through realistic decisions, try Lyra Practice.
Sources
- TOEIC Listening and Reading Test Examinee Handbook — ETS
- TOEIC preparation materials — ETS
- TOEIC Listening and Reading overview — ETS
Related
- TOEIC Listening Part 2: Match the Speaker's Purpose
- TOEIC Vocabulary List by Workplace Situation
- TOEIC Reading Part 7: Email Near-Words That Change the Meaning
- TOEIC Speaking Questions 8–10: Use Provided Information
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