Even if you're really kind of grown up about it, it's still a difficult thing to hear, so to give that information is equally difficult, I'd say.

即使你已經長大成人，聽到這樣的消息還是很難受，所以我認為提供這樣的資訊也同樣困難。

It's important to remember that you're talking to a real person and this bad news is going to affect them in a personal way and you have to take that into account rather than just following business kind of speak.

重要的是要記住，你正在與一個真實的人交談，這個壞消息將以個人方式影響他們，你必須考慮到這一點，而不是僅僅遵循商業上的談話。

In this episode of Office English, we're talking about the language of bad news.

在這一集的《辦公室英語》中，我們討論的是壞消息的語言。

Welcome to Office English, the podcast where we discuss business language to help you succeed at work.

歡迎收聽《辦公室英語》，我們在播客中討論商務語言，助你在工作中取得成功。

Today, we're talking about bad news.

今天，我們要說的是壞消息。

Nobody likes talking about bad news, right Phil, but sometimes at work, we have to.

沒人喜歡談論壞消息，對吧，Phil，但有時在工作中，我們不得不這樣做。

Okay, you're talking about bad news.

你說的是壞消息。

What do we mean by bad news at work?

工作中的壞消息是什麼意思？

What things can be bad news at work?

哪些事情會成為工作中的壞消息？

So it's things that might affect your job in a bad way.

這些事情可能會對你的工作造成不良影響。

So it might be a company-wide problem, maybe financial difficulties, decisions have to be made about what people can afford, what jobs are going to remain and who might be losing their job, or it might be something more specific to you.

這可能是一個全公司的問題，可能是財務困難，必須就人們的承受能力、哪些工作將繼續保留以及哪些人可能會失業等問題做出決定，也可能是與你有關的更具體的問題。

So your manager might need to give you bad news about a report you've written or some work you've done or something that's happened in your department that affects you.

你的經理可能需要告訴你一個壞消息，是關於你寫的一份報告、你做的一些工作或你所在部門發生的一些影響你的事情。

And when people give bad news, they often don't like doing it.

當人們宣布壞消息時，他們往往不喜歡這樣做。

And so they'll often use something which we call a business euphemism.

他們經常會使用一些我們稱之為商業委婉語的東西。

And that means sort of a word or a phrase which sounds innocent, sounds harmless, but actually could mean something quite bad or serious.

這意味著一個詞或一個短語聽起來天真無邪，聽起來無傷大雅，但實際上可能意味著相當糟糕或嚴重的事情。

So they're trying to hide the bad news from you or make it sound like a positive thing when it might actually be bad for your future at the company.

他們試圖向你隱瞞壞消息，或者讓壞消息聽起來像是一件好事，而實際上這可能對你在公司的前途不利。

So in this episode of Office English, we're going to look at some of these business euphemisms so that you can recognise bad news.

在本期 《辦公室英語》節目中，我們將介紹一些商務委婉語，以便你識別壞消息。

And we'll also talk about some phrases you can use if you need to deliver bad news to somebody else.

我們還將討論一些短語，如果你需要向別人傳達壞消息，可以使用這些短語。

Right, let's start with recognising bad news.

好了，讓我們從識別壞消息開始。

How do managers talk about problems at work, Phil?

管理人員如何談論工作中的問題，Phil？

What phrases should we look out for?

我們應該注意哪些短語？

Yes, keep your ears open for some of these phrases.

是的，請留意這些短語。

Like if you hear about budget cuts, there's often consequences to that, aren't there?

比如說，如果你聽說要削減預算，這往往會帶來一些後果，不是嗎？

Yeah, budget cuts means less money, which means probably fewer things that can have less money spent on them.

是的，削減預算意味著減少資金，這意味著可以減少資金投入的事情可能會減少。

You mean fewer things like fewer people sometimes?

你的意思是有時會少一些東西，比如少一些人？

Sometimes, yes.

有時是的。

Fewer projects, fewer people.

項目減少，人員減少。

Another one is something called headwinds.

另一個是所謂的逆風。

So if people talk about financial headwinds, that means basically forces that are stopping the company from making as much money as they might like to make.

如果人們談到財務逆風，基本上就是指那些阻止公司賺取他們可能想賺的錢的力量。

Sounds like something from sailing, that one, headwinds.

聽起來像航海中的逆風。

Yeah, I think it probably is a metaphor.

是的，我認為這可能是一個隱喻。

Also, you'll often hear of companies talk about needing to make efficiencies.

此外，你經常會聽到一些公司談到需要提高效率。

What they mean by that?

他們這麼說是什麼意思？

Well, it's similar to budget cuts.

這和預算削減有異曲同工之妙。

Making efficiencies means spending less money to get the same amount of work done, which sometimes means fewer people to get the same amount of work done.

提高效率意味著花更少的錢完成同樣多的工作，這有時意味著用更少的人完成同樣多的工作。

Yeah, so a lot of these, I mean, they don't have to be, but they often do mean that there's going to be fewer people working at the place that you work, which could be bad news.

是的，所以很多情況下，我的意思是，不一定非得是這樣，但往往意味著你工作的地方工作的人會減少，這可能是個壞消息。

And these euphemisms carry on because we actually have euphemisms that specifically mean people losing their jobs, but we perhaps don't want to say that.

這些委婉的說法還在繼續，因為我們實際上有一些委婉的說法，具體指的是人們失去工作，但我們也許不想這麼說。

So we can talk about downsizing.

我們可以討論縮小規模的問題。

How is downsizing made?

如何縮編？

Where is that coming from?

這是從哪裡來的？

So if we downsize something, we make it smaller.

如果我們縮小某樣東西的尺寸，我們就會把它變小。

This is quite an American term, I think, an the company is going to change and there will be fewer jobs at the end of the process.

我認為，這是一個頗具美國特色的術語，意思是公司將發生變化，最終工作崗位將減少。

So downsizing means the whole workforce gets smaller.

裁員意味著整個員工隊伍的縮小。

Yeah.

是啊。

Another one we use is restructuring.

我們使用的另一個方法是重組。

So the word restructuring, changing the structure of something, we might not think that would necessarily mean that there would be people losing their jobs, but it usually does.

重組，意思是「改變某些東西的結構」的這個詞，我們可能不認為一定意味著會有人失業，但通常確實如此。

Restructuring is a euphemism for we are going through a lot fewer people working here.

結構調整是一種委婉的說法，意思是我們將減少很多在這裡工作的人。

And another one we've got here is streamlining.

我們這裡的另一個問題是精簡。

I think in engineering or design, streamlining is you make something aerodynamic so that it can go faster.

我認為，在工程或設計中，流線型是指你使某物符合空氣動力學，這樣它就能跑得更快。

So you take bits off it so it can go faster.

所以，你要把它拆下來，讓它跑得更快。

Well, for business, sometimes that means taking people out so that it can work better or cheaper.

對於企業來說，有時這就意味著要抽調人員，以便更好或更便宜地開展工作。

All of these three words, downsizing, restructuring, streamlining, they don't always mean that people will lose their jobs.

縮編、重組、精簡，這三個詞並不總是意味著人們會失去工作。

Sometimes they just mean reorganizations, but that means change and upheaval.

有時，它們只是意味著重組，但這意味著變革和動盪。

So that might be bad news for you at work.

這對你的工作來說可能是個壞消息。

And then we have some words that are specifically about people losing their jobs.

然後，我們還有一些專門針對人們失業的詞語。

We've got redundancies and layoffs.

我們面臨裁員。

What's a redundancy?

什麼是冗餘？

What's the difference between being made redundant and getting sacked, for example?

例如，被裁員和被解僱之間有什麼區別？

So being sacked is when you lose your job because of something that you've done or because of your performance at work, usually.

被解僱通常是指你因為所做的事情或工作表現而失去工作。

Whereas being made redundant, in the UK, we have a very formal process for redundancies.

在英國，裁員有一套非常正規的程序。

It is basically where a company has to decide that they need to make their workforce smaller.

從根本上說，公司必須決定縮小員工人數。

And so some people need to lose their jobs, but it's not their fault.

有些人需要失業，但這不是他們的錯。

So being made redundant just means that your role won't exist anymore, your job won't exist anymore, and the company makes that decision.

被裁員只是意味著你的角色將不復存在，你的工作將不復存在，公司做出了這樣的決定。

But it's not something that you've done.

但這不是你做過的事。

It's just something that's kind of outside of your control, really.

其實，這並不是你所能控制的。是啊

Yeah. And when we talk about layoffs, I mean, that's usually the same thing.

當我們談論裁員時，我的意思是，這通常是同樣的事情。

It's companies reducing the number of people working for them to save money.

這是公司為了省錢而減少員工人數。

What about this expression to let someone go?

那「讓某人離開」這種說法又是怎麼回事呢？

What do you think of that expression?

你怎麼看這種說法？

This is sort of a phrase that we use to say that somebody has to lose their job.

我們用這句話來形容某人必須丟掉工作。

It's another one of these euphemisms.

這又是一個委婉的說法。

To let someone go is almost, sounds like you're doing them a favour when actually you're saying that they can't work here anymore for various reasons.

讓一個人走，聽起來好像是在幫他的忙，但實際上，你是在說，由於種種原因，他不能再在這裡工作了。

So to let someone go means to make them redundant so that they lose their job.

「讓一個人走」就是讓他成為多餘的人，使他失去工作。

Right, so we now know some words to talk about bad news at work, but imagine we're the ones giving the bad news.

好了，我們現在知道了一些在工作中談論壞消息的詞語，但想象一下，我們才是那個發佈壞消息的人。

What else do we need to say?

我們還需要說什麼？

Well, this is difficult.

嗯，這很困難。

So this will be different depending on the country that you work in, the context that you work in.

這取決於你工作的國家和環境。

Some cultures are more upfront about things, so they're more likely to just say what the problem is and give you the bad news.

有些文化對事情的態度更直接，所以他們更願意直接說出問題所在，並告訴你壞消息。

Some cultures are more likely to use a lot of these euphemisms that we've talked about.

有些文化更傾向於使用我們說過的這些委婉語。

If you have to do it yourself, it's not a nice thing to do.

如果你必須親自動手，那就不太好了。

Probably the best way is to start by being honest.

最好的辦法也許是從誠實開始。

So say something like, we've had to make some tough decisions and after a long and careful review, we have decided that.

可以這樣說：我們不得不做出一些艱難的決定，經過長時間的認真審查，我們決定這樣做。

So that's showing that you've made a decision that you were about to communicate very seriously.

所以，這表明你已經做出了一個決定，你要非常認真地進行交流。

You're taking this whole conversation seriously.

你把整個談話都當真了。

Yeah, there's an emphasis there.

是的，這裡有一個重點。

It's a tough decision.

這是一個艱難的決定。

They're saying it's been difficult, long and careful there.

他們說，那裡的工作艱難、漫長而又小心翼翼。

It's this idea that a lot of effort has gone into this decision.

這個決定凝聚了很多心血。

It wasn't just made quickly.

它並不是一蹴而就的。

It's been thought about for a long time.

我們已經考慮了很久。

Another thing that might be helpful is to try and be quite clear and concise.

另一個可能有幫助的方法是儘量簡潔明瞭。

So a short piece of news.

所以，我有一個簡短的消息。

So you could say, "Unfortunately, your role is being made redundant."

你可以說：「很不幸，你的職位被裁減了。」

So it's really clear what is happening in your bad news.

所以，你的壞消息中到底發生了什麼，真的一目瞭然。

Something else is interesting here as well.

還有一件事也很有意思。

If you say to someone, your role is being made redundant, you're making it about the position in the company.

如果你對別人說，你的職位將被裁減，你就會把它說成是公司的職位。

You're not making it about that individual.

你說的不是那個人。

And there's reasons why that happens in the UK, but in general, it's kind of depersonalising it.

英國出現這種情況是有原因的，但總的來說，這是把它人格化了。

So it's probably easier to talk about someone's role than the person themselves.

是以，談論一個人的角色可能比談論這個人本身更容易。

Yes.

是的。

And if you're having to give someone bad news, it's likely that they might be upset.

如果你不得不告訴別人壞消息，他們很可能會不高興。

So you need to think about how you're going to show them that you care and also kind of make sure that they're OK.

你需要考慮如何向他們表達你的關心，同時確保他們沒事。

So you could say, "Is there somebody that I can call for you?

所以你可以說：「我可以幫你打電話給誰嗎？」

Would you like to take a moment?"

你需要一點時間嗎？

If someone's upset, you could ask, "Would you like to take a moment?"

如果有人不高興，你可以問：「你想休息一會兒嗎？」

So they've just got time to kind of react to what you're telling them, which is probably quite a big shock.

所以他們才有時間對你告訴他們的事情做出反應，這可能是個不小的打擊。

And it's often good at this moment to avoid cliches.

此時此刻，避免陳詞濫調往往是件好事。

So things like, oh, look on the bright side.

比如，哦，往好的方面想。

I mean, there could be nice sentiment behind it, but if it's a cliche, it sort of suggests you haven't really been thinking about it and you don't really mean it.

我的意思是，這背後可能有美好的情感，但如果是老生常談，那就表明你並沒有真正想過這個問題，也不是真心的。

So do try to make sure when you're talking to someone, sound like you mean what you say.

當你與人交談時，一定要確保自己說的是真心話。

Don't just use the same old tired cliches.

不要只使用老生常談的陳詞濫調。

Yeah, and you probably don't want to just try and cheer them up.

是的，你可能不想只是試圖讓他們高興起來。

Your natural instinct when you speak to someone and they're upset is to try and cheer them up, but they probably don't want to hear that from the person that has given them the bad news or that they might see as responsible for their misfortune.

當你和某人交談時，如果他很沮喪，你的本能就是試圖讓他振作起來，但他可能並不希望從給他帶來壞消息的人那裡聽到這樣的話，或者他可能會認為這個人對他的不幸負有責任。

So, yeah, it's a really difficult thing to do, basically.

所以，是的，從根本上說，這是一件非常困難的事情。

Unfortunately, even if you're calm and sympathetic with bad news, people can still be upset.

不幸的是，即使你對壞消息保持冷靜和同情，人們還是會感到不安。

Let's hear again from our BBC Learning English colleagues.

讓我們再次聆聽 BBC Learning English 同事的聲音。

It's important to remember that you're talking to a real person and this bad news is going to affect them in a personal way.

重要的是要記住，你是在和一個真實的人說話，這個壞消息會對他們產生個人影響。

And you have to take that into account rather than just following business kind of speak.

你必須考慮到這一點，而不是一味地遵循商業規則。

I think there's a temptation to say to someone that something isn't maybe as bad as it is.

我認為，有一種誘惑會讓你對別人說，有些事情也許並沒有那麼糟糕。

And that makes the whole situation even more difficult, I think.

我認為，這讓整個局面變得更加困難。

You need to be up front with someone, even if it's difficult, because otherwise you're just kicking that can down the road and they'll have to deal with it, possibly even bigger problem later on.

你需要對別人直言不諱，即使這很困難，因為否則你只是在踢皮球，而他們將不得不處理這個問題，以後可能會有更大的問題。

OK, so Neil used a phrase there, kicking the can down the road.

Neil 在這裡用了一個用法「逃避（或拖延）處理問題」。

What does that mean, Phil?

這是什麼意思，Phil？

It's a metaphor and it means that instead of dealing with something that you need to deal with now, you put it off until some time in the future.

這是一個比喻，意思是說，你不去處理現在就需要處理的事情，而是把它拖到將來的某個時候。

But if we go back to the metaphor, instead of picking the can up and throwing it in the bin, you're kicking it further down the road.

但如果我們回到這個比喻，你不是把罐子撿起來扔進垃圾桶，而是把它踢得更遠。

So you'll just have to do it later on when you get to it.

所以，你只能以後再做了。

Yeah, the problem doesn't go away.

是的，問題不會消失。

So you're sort of delaying it rather than solving it.

所以，你是在拖延時間，而不是解決問題。

And I think this is where, as we said earlier, it's important to be clear when you're giving bad news.

我認為，正如我們之前所說的那樣，在發佈壞消息時，一定要明確。

So you don't want to leave the conversation, either if you're giving bad news or you're receving it, and what needs to be communicated hasn't been communicated.

如果你要告訴對方的是壞消息，或者你需要傳達的資訊還沒有傳達，你就不要離開談話。

So it's important to be clear and not kind of hide too much behind euphemisms and phrases that aren't clear about what actually needs to happen.

重要的是要明確，不要過多地躲在委婉語和短語後面，不清楚實際需要發生什麼。

So if you're trying to be too kind, you're actually creating a problem further down the line.

如果你過於仁慈，實際上會造成更嚴重的問題。

You're kicking the can down the road.

你這是在踢皮球。

Now, if you're stuck for how to start the conversation, you could just say, "Unfortunately, I've got some bad news."

現在，如果你不知道如何開始對話，你可以直接說：「很不幸，我有一些壞消息。」

Yeah, I think that's a good idea.

是的，我覺得這是個好主意。

So start the conversation and warn someone that they're about to hear something bad is probably a good way to start off.

在開始談話時，提醒對方他們即將聽到一些不好的消息，也許是一個好的開始。

Don't start the conversation with a nice chit chat and a really friendly conversation because they'll just think it's a normal meeting and then, you know, the bad news comes and shocks them even more.

不要以愉快的閒聊和非常友好的談話開始，因為他們會認為這只是一次普通的會面，然後，你知道，壞消息就來了，讓他們更加震驚。

That's it for this episode of Office English.

本集《辦公室英語》到此結束。

Hopefully, you won't have any bad news at work but if you do, these phrases can help you communicate.

希望你在工作中不會遇到任何壞消息，但如果遇到了，這些短語可以幫助你進行溝通。

If you like this podcast, you can find more programmes and activities to help you with your English at bbclearningenglish.com.

如果你喜歡這個播客，你可以在 bbclearningenglish.com 上找到更多幫助你提高英語程度的節目和活動。

Next time, we'll be talking about how to deal with disagreements at work.

下一次，我們將討論如何處理工作中的分歧。

See you then.

到時候見。

Bye.

再見。

Bye.

再見。