James開會總是踴躍發(fā)言,但此舉卻引來同事批評:Who does he think he is!(他以為他是誰?。。┰瓉硎且驗樘郔 recommend、My opinion is…外國人雖然講話直接,但一談到專業(yè),就特別注意謙虛用語。
1 如果你想說“我建議……”“我認為……”
(×)I suggest / I think that…
(○ )May I possibly suggest that…? / It seems to me that…
解析:在英文中,疑問句多半比肯定句來得謙虛,再加上possibly,語調(diào)就更顯客氣;此外,用seem就是告訴對方,隨后的想法是主觀判斷,讓語氣不會顯得自信專斷。
例1:
May I possibly suggest that we go by train rather than car, so that we won't get stuck in traffic?(我想提個建議,是不是我們不要開車,改搭火車?這樣就不會堵在路上。)
例2:
It seems to me that this marketing campaign is worth trying.(在我看來,這個營銷案值得一試。)
2 如果你想說“你錯了……”
(×)You are wrong because…
(○ )Correct me if I'm wrong, but…
解析:事情出錯,想糾正卻不想傷和氣時,可用“若我說錯請指正,不過……”開頭,聽起來較不刺耳。
例:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember that the proposal should be done by Wednesday.(若我說錯請指正,但我記得提案應該要在周三前完成。)
3 如果你想說“我想談的是……”
(×)I will give a lecture on…
(○ )I would like to share with you…
解析:與其像老師一般給同事上課,不如改用分享,態(tài)度更親切。
例:
I would like to share with you our strategy in dealing with this market segment.(我想和大家分享公司處理市場區(qū)域的策略。)