Phone call

Hi, I have a question about phone calls ...

When somebody calls and asks to speak to me and I am the one who picked up the phone, what do I say?

That's she?

That's me?

Talking?

What is correct to say?

Thank you

Hi Effex,
good question, I'm curious...
I know that "Speaking" is ok and common in the US, if I'm not mistaken, but what's common as well? That's me, That's him, This is him...? It would be interesting to hear from British people too, so to have a complete thread about "What on earth do I say on the phone?"

Another thing I've always wondered about is what you say when you want to say who you are... "Hello, this is Kooyeen."?
And if you want to know who is the other? "Who's this?"

We could write some of the most common expressions to use on the phone, both in the US and in the UK...

Kooyeen wrote:

Another thing I've always wondered about is what you say when you want to say who you are... "Hello, this is Kooyeen."? And if you want to know who is the other? "Who's this?"

I thought it was with "it" instead of "this". I mean, "It is Kooyeen" and "who is it?" instead of the examples Kooyeen wrote!

Are they both used?

Thanks in advance!

Grammar Geek wrote:

I guess I'm hopelessly stuffy. I say "This is she."

Hehehe, do you mean you think most people would say "This is her" nowadays? What about something else, apart form that and "speaking"? Is something like "That's me" or "I am <yourname>" common?

And just to be sure, are "Hello, this is Barbara" and "Who's this?" the most common expressions on the phone? Are there any other similar expressions that are common?

Thank you

I don't know that it's hopelessly stuffy to say "This is she".   I think people learn this specifically for use on the telephone. But I do think that some people also would (informally) say "This is her."

If the phone rings, at home I answer with "Hello". 
If the caller asks to speak to Amy, I'll usually say one of the following two:
- Speaking.
- This is Amy.
I've also heard people say "This is."

People do not say "I am [name]".

If I suspect it's a junk call (unsolicited phone sales, etc.),  then before I admit that Amy is already on the phone, I'll say:
- May I ask who's calling?
- Who's calling please?

If this confirms that the caller is trying to sell something I don't want, then I simply tell them that Amy is away on an extended business trip or I start speaking German (which usually guarantees that the caller will give up and hang up).

If the phone call is from a machine, I usually just hang up.