內容簡介

在非正式場合中與熟人或朋友交流時，有時說話稍微直接一點并無大礙。但在工作等正式場合中，則需要注意自己的措辭。怎樣提出個人想法和意見，聽起來才更委婉？主持人 Sian 在視頻中介紹在正式場合用英語禮貌表述個人觀點的多種方法。

文字稿

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.

用法總結

在陳述句里加入一些委婉、模糊的詞匯來弱化語氣，讓我們提出的想法和意見聽起來更禮貌。比如 “reckon”、“feel”、“believe” 這類表達 “覺得，認為...” 的詞語和 “sort of（大概，差不多）”、“kind of（似乎，有點）”、“a little（一點）” 這類短語。 

• 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.

將陳述句變為問句，語氣更加委婉。

• Do you think you need to re-write the essay?
• Do you feel the presentation could have been better?

指出他人錯誤時，可以加入 “seem to”、“appear to” 這類表達 “看起來，似乎” 的搭配，以柔化語氣。

• You appear to have written about the wrong subject.
• You seem to have misunderstood the topic of the presentation.