Name: 禮貌和專業英語：如何軟化您的語言 (Polite & Professional English: How to soften your language)
Uploaded: 2025-07-27T17:57:16.000Z
Duration: 13 min 21 s

In today's video, I want to talk to you about ways to be diplomatic when speaking.

在今天的視頻中，我想和大家談談說話時的外交方式。

Now, this is especially important in more formal situations like business, or when you're working with a teacher, or in school, for example, coworkers, actual business between companies, all these things.

現在，這一點在比較正式的場合尤其重要，比如商務場合、與老師共事時、學校裡、同事之間、公司之間的實際業務等等。

You want to be diplomatic so that you don't offend anyone.

你要注意外交辭令，以免冒犯他人。

It's very easy to offend people, and a lot of this has to do with cultural norms, or things that are normal in one culture might not be so normal in another culture.

得罪人是很容易的，這在很大程度上與文化規範有關，或者說，在一種文化中正常的事情，在另一種文化中可能就不那麼正常了。

I've been teaching for a long time, and I've had students from all over the world, and I know that some of them like to be very direct in their speech.

我教了很長時間的書，我的學生來自世界各地，我知道他們中有些人喜歡說話很直接。

But I also understand that in some countries, that direct speech can be a little bit, you know, off-putting or a little bit offensive to the locals.

但我也明白，在某些國家，這種直截了當的講話可能會讓當地人有點反感或反感。

A little bit too polite, some people might say.

有些人可能會說，這有點太客氣了。

And when somebody speaks to them very directly, very straightforward, they're a little bit, you know, they're not sure what's going on, sometimes they get offended.

當有人非常直接、非常直白地對他們說話時，他們會有點，你知道，他們不確定發生了什麼，有時他們會被冒犯。

So, they're a little bit too sensitive, but just in case, you should know how to speak diplomatically.

所以，他們有點太敏感了，但為了以防萬一，你應該知道如何說外交辭令。

Diplomatically basically means saying something in a more polite way, in a softer way.

外交 "的基本意思是用一種更禮貌、更柔和的方式說話。

So, that's the first thing we want to learn how to do.

所以，我們首先要學會怎麼做。

我們希望軟化我們使用的語言。

所以，與其說 "這樣不好"，不如說 "這樣不好"。

So, somebody comes to you with a proposal, or they come to you with a design, or whatever, and you say, this isn't good.

所以，如果有人向你提出建議，或者他們向你提出設計方案，或者其他什麼的，你就會說，這不好。

That statement, this very straightforward, very correct, I mean, you're not wasting time, you're just telling them what you think, but a lot of people will be, like, offended.

這番話非常直接，非常正確，我的意思是，你沒有浪費時間，你只是告訴了他們你的想法，但很多人都會覺得被冒犯了。

They'll be insulted, or they'll think they did something bad.

他們會受到侮辱，或者認為自己做了壞事。

So, you don't want to make them feel bad.

所以，你不想讓他們感到難過。

So, what you can do is you can soften the language.

是以，你可以做的就是軟化語言。

Now, one way to do that is just to turn the statement of fact into an opinion.

現在，一種方法就是把事實陳述變成觀點。

Now, as soon as you put, I think, basically what you're saying is, here's an opinion, and opinions are much easier to accept than statements.

現在，只要你說，我想，基本上你是在說，這是一種觀點，而觀點比陳述更容易被接受。

Because you're allowed to have your opinion, you're allowed to have your opinion, everybody has an opinion.

因為你可以有自己的觀點，你可以有自己的觀點，每個人都有自己的觀點。

When you give an opinion, you're opening the door to a discussion, to a dialogue.

當你發表意見時，你就打開了討論和對話的大門。

And that's the whole point of diplomacy, dialogue, having a discussion about something.

而這正是外交、對話、就某事進行討論的意義所在。

So, when you say, I think something, then you're softening it, and it's much easier to get into a discussion and see how to fix it.

所以，當你說 "我認為 "的時候，你就軟化了它，這樣就更容易展開討論，看看如何解決這個問題。

Another thing you can do, always offer an alternative.

你還可以做的另一件事，就是始終提供替代方案。

If you're saying it's bad, well, okay, end of discussion, nothing left to talk about, that person walks away feeling bad, you go on doing whatever you do.

如果你說這不好，好吧，討論結束，沒什麼好談的了，那個人走了，感覺不好，你繼續做你該做的事。

是以，我在這裡使用的，是可以改進的。

I didn't say, I think this needs to be improved, or this needs improvement, or whatever.

我沒有說，我認為這一點需要改進，或者這一點需要改進，或者其他什麼的。

This could be improved means, again, I'm offering a possibility, and possibilities open the door to discussion.

同樣，我只是提供了一種可能性，而可能性為討論打開了大門。

I'm not saying it needs to be improved, you have to improve it, which are kind of modals, but I'm talking about softening modals.

我不是說它需要改進，你必須改進它，這是一種模態，但我說的是軟化模態。

What you're doing is you're opening the door for discussion.

你要做的就是打開討論的大門。

Another thing you can do is use negative questions.

另一種方法是使用否定式問題。

Instead of saying, this isn't good, well, why don't we make some changes?

與其說 "這樣不好"，不如說 "我們為什麼不做些改變呢？

Basically means I'm offering you the opportunity or the possibility to make some changes.

基本上，這意味著我為你提供了做出一些改變的機會或可能性。

I'm not saying you have to, but when I ask you a question like this, why don't we make some changes to this, automatically you understand that it's not good as it is, but, okay, let's talk about what kind of changes we can make, how can we make this better, and then you start a dialogue and you're engaged in diplomacy.

我並不是說你必須這樣做，但當我問你這樣一個問題：為什麼我們不對此做出一些改變，你就會自動明白現在的情況並不好，但是，好吧，讓我們來談談我們可以做出什麼樣的改變，我們怎樣才能讓情況變得更好，然後你就開始了對話，你就參與了外交。

So, again, you're going to offer an alternative, you're going to offer a different way to do something, and you're going to present it with a modal and a negative question.

所以，你還是要提供一種替代方案，提供一種做某事的不同方法，並用模態和否定問題來表述。

It makes the language softer, again, opens the door to discussion, and the person who brought you the...

它使語言更加柔和，再次打開了討論的大門，給你帶來...

Whatever, the plan or the design feels that you're open to listening to different ideas, you're going to offer ideas, you're going to listen to ideas, and eventually you guys, the two people together will reach some sort of agreement.

不管是什麼，不管是計劃還是設計，只要你願意傾聽不同的意見，你就會提供意見，聽取意見，最終你們兩個人在一起會達成某種協議。

But with all these in mind, there are also certain expressions that you should know that are much easier to accept than direct statements, so we're going to look at those next.

但考慮到所有這些，您還應該知道一些比直接陳述更容易接受的表達方式，所以我們接下來要看看這些表達方式。

Okay, now we also have a few expressions, like set expressions that you can use in many situations instead of very direct expressions.

好了，現在我們還有一些表達式，比如可以在很多情況下使用的集合表達式，而不是非常直接的表達式。

If somebody offers you some food, you go to somebody's house and they offer you some tuna.

如果有人請你吃東西，你去別人家，他們會請你吃金槍魚。

Some people don't like tuna, that's fine.

有些人不喜歡金槍魚，沒關係。

Instead of saying, I don't like it, the person who's offering it to you will feel right away...

而不是說 "我不喜歡它"，提供給你的人會立刻感覺到...

Will feel bad, might even feel offended or insulted, so you don't...

會感覺不好，甚至可能感到被冒犯或侮辱，所以你不要...

You can say, well, I'm not a big fan of tuna.

你可以說，我不太喜歡金槍魚。

You don't have to like it, but again, it's not about whether you like it or not, it's about how you say you don't like it.

你不一定要喜歡它，但還是那句話，問題不在於你喜不喜歡它，而在於你怎麼說你不喜歡它。

So, if you say, I'm not a big fan of, okay, understood.

所以，如果你說，我不太喜歡，好吧，我理解。

Not everybody likes it, you don't have to have it, I'll bring you some mac and cheese or whatever.

不是每個人都喜歡吃，你不必非得吃，我給你帶點奶酪通心粉什麼的。

Not keen on means don't really like something, or you could say I don't really love it, same idea.

不喜歡 "的意思是 "不太喜歡"，或者也可以說 "不太愛"，意思是一樣的。

If you don't love tuna, it means you don't like it, you dislike it.

如果你不喜歡金槍魚，那就意味著你不喜歡它，你不喜歡它。

So, not really to my taste means I don't like it, essentially.

所以，不符合我的口味基本上就意味著我不喜歡它。

I don't have the taste for it, it doesn't taste good to me.

我不喜歡這種味道，吃起來不舒服。

This is an idiom and very common, like, British use, but cup...

這是一個成語，很常見，比如，英國人使用，但杯...

Not my cup of tea means I prefer something else.

不是我的那杯茶，就意味著我喜歡別的東西。

If it's not your favourite, you can still like it, but the idea is if it's not your favourite, you just don't like it and you don't want it.

如果它不是你的最愛，你仍然可以喜歡它，但我們的想法是，如果它不是你的最愛，你就是不喜歡它，不想要它。

字幕列表影片播放

禮貌和專業英語：如何軟化您的語言 (Polite & Professional English: How to soften your language)

present

opportunity

alternative

compromise