在非正式场合中与熟人或朋友交流时,有时说话稍微直接一点并无大碍。但在工作等正式场合中,则需要注意自己的措辞。怎样提出个人想法和意见,听起来才更委婉?主持人 Sian 在视频中介绍在正式场合用英语礼貌表述个人观点的多种方法。
It's OK to be direct with people you know, but sometimes in more formal situations, like at work, it's important to be polite.
You can give your opinion in a direct way: Your presentation is too long.
But to make your opinion less direct, use verbs like 'reckon', 'feel', 'believe'. And also vague expressions like 'sort of', 'kind of', 'a little'.
I reckon your presentation is a little long.
Or, turn it into a question to make it even less direct: Don't you think your presentation is kind of long?
You can tell someone they've made a mistake in a very direct way: You've sent the wrong reports.
But to be less direct, add softer verbs like 'seem to' or 'appear to': You seem to have sent the wrong reports.
You see – it's easy to be polite.
在陈述句里加入一些委婉、模糊的词汇来弱化语气,让我们提出的想法和意见听起来更礼貌。比如 “reckon”、“feel”、“believe” 这类表达 “觉得,认为...” 的词语和 “sort of(大概,差不多)”、“kind of(似乎,有点)”、“a little(一点)” 这类短语。
I reckon you need to re-write the essay.
I feel that presentation could have been better.
It was sort of OK, but maybe you need to re-write the essay.
That presentation was kind of good, but it could have been better.
I believe this report would be better if you spend a little more time on it.
将陈述句变为问句,语气更加委婉。
Do you think you need to re-write the essay?
Do you feel the presentation could have been better?
指出他人错误时,可以加入 “seem to”、“appear to” 这类表达 “看起来,似乎” 的搭配,以柔化语气。
You appear to have written about the wrong subject.
You seem to have misunderstood the topic of the presentation.