The English Language originates from Britain and as the British place so much importance on politeness it’s no surprise that the English Language evolved to reflect this ‘obsession’. We’re real sticklers about using ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ but we also insist on using diplomatic language when dealing with people both privately and professionally.
英语起源于英国，英国人非常重视礼貌，英语演变反映了英国人对礼貌用语的“坚持”并不奇怪，英国人在平时很注重使用“请”、“谢谢”等礼貌用语，在处理个人和专业事务时也同样坚持使用外交语言。
The real challenge for many non-native speakers is how to sound diplomatic when doing business in English. Is it a cultural thing or can non-native speakers actually learn to be diplomatic?
对于非英语母语者来说，真正的挑战是如何使用商务英语时更委婉更得体。这是一个文化问题吗？非英语母语者能真正的学会外交用语吗？
The good news is that there are language (verbal) techniques, as well as non-verbal techniques, that will allow you to get a much more successful response than you might have had before.
好消息是有很多口语技巧和书面技巧，会帮助你获得更大的成功。
Culture does have a role to play in the use of diplomatic language in English. For example, the British prefer to use indirect language whereas the Americans are more direct. Nevertheless putting the cultural differences aside, they do share common expressions for certain situations and this is what I want to share with you in this post.
文化在英语外交语言的使用过程中扮演了重要角色。例如，英国人说话更加委婉，而相比之下美国人更加直接。尽管如此，抛开文化差异，他们在某一特定情况下也会有相同的表达方式，这正是我想在这篇文章要和大家分享的。
Let’s take a look at some situations where diplomatic language would be important if you were doing business in English.
下面让我们来看看一些情况下，如果你用英语交流，外交语言将显得尤为重要。
Giving bad news 传递坏消息
Making requests 提出请求
Giving a command 发出命令
Making an objection 提出异议
Negotiating 谈判
Making suggestions 提出建议
Blaming someone 职责某人
In all the above situations, you’d want to soften your language. Well, you’d be expected to soften your language if you’re using English as the language of communication.
在以上所有这些情况下，如果你用英语作为交流工具你一定期待你的语言更加委婉和得体。
So how can we soften the tone and language and sound more diplomatic?
那么，我们怎样才能使语气和语言变得更加柔和，更加委婉呢？
Here are 7 techniques.
七大技巧分享给大家。
** 1. Using softeners**
** 使用“软化词”**
Consider this sentence.
I have to cancel the meeting.
我不得不取消会议。
This is direct with no apology for giving bad news. If you were delivering this to a superior or a client this would sound harsh. Wouldn’t you rather hear this instead?
这是一个直接的表述，并没有对于坏消息表示出歉意。如果你把这个坏消息传递给上级或者客户，听起来会很刺耳的，如果是你也不愿意听到这么表达。
- I’m afraid I have to cancel the meeting.
- I’m**so sorry **but I have to cancel the meeting.
- **Unfortunately, **something’s come up and I have to cancel the meeting.
- **Actually, **I have to cancel the meeting.
- To be honest, I’ll have to cancel that meeting.
Softeners come at the beginning of the sentence and prepares your listener or reader to the bad news you are giving them. They are a linguistic tool to soften the tone of your content or to show politeness when you’re speaking.
“软化词”这一类词放在句子的开头，在你告知你的听众或读者坏消息时，先把这些词放在前面。这些语言技巧软化你句子的语气，让你说起来显得更加有礼貌。
2. Modal Verbs
情态动词
Imagine you are giving an order or making a request, using modal verbs like would, could, may or might would be of huge help.
想象一下，你发出一个命令或者提出请求，使用情态动词would，could，may or might，将会有很大的帮助。
Making a Request
I want more time. (rather demanding)
我需要更多时间。
Try this instead:
I could do with more time.
It would be so helpful to have more time.
Giving an order
Give me an answer by tomorrow (how rude!)
明天给我一个答案。
Try this instead:
Could you give me an answer by tomorrow? (much better)
3. Rephrasing a negative sentence
** 改写成否定句**
You can rephrase a negative sentence to make it sound more positive.
你可以改成否定句使得具体听起来更加积极。
I’m afraid I haven’t finished the report.
我恐怕还没有完成报告。
The use of ‘I’m afraid’ softens the bad news but we can soften it even more by doing this.
这个句子使用了“I'm afraid”，使这个表达坏消息的句子没那么生硬，但是我们可以让它更加“柔软”。
I’m afraid I’ve not been able to finish the report yet.
Using be ablehighlights your attempt to finish the report was stopped by circumstances beyond your control, for example, heavy workload, awaiting more data and so on, and NOT by your failure. Using the word ‘yet’ emphasises your willingness to finish the report and that you’re still working on it.
使用be able突出你试图尝试完成这个报告，但是被周围不可控制的因素干扰被迫停止，例如，繁重的工作量，等待更多的数据等等，而不是由于你个人的因素导致的失败。使用“yet”这个词强调了你想努力完成这个报告并且你将继续工作。
Negative sentences formed withcan’tor won’tcan make you as a speaker sound especially unhelpful and negative.
否定句使用“can't”或者“won't”会使说话者听起来不帮忙或者消极。
I can’t deliver the goods on time.
I won’t have the report ready by then.
How about trying this?
试试这么说如何？
I won’t be able to have the report ready by then.
I’m not in a position to say when the goods will be delivered.
I’m not able to say when the goods will be delivered.
Similarly, affirmative sentences containing words with a negative meaning can be rephrased to soften the message and have a more indirect effect:
同样，含有否定意义的肯定句也可以“软化”信息，并且有更多间接的影响。
I am unhappy with this arrangement.
I am not entirely happy with this arrangement.
I am not** totally** happy with this arrangement.
Here the negative adjective ‘unhappy’ is replaced with its positive opposite ‘happy’, modified with an adverb such as entirely, totally orcompletely, and the sentence is changed to the negative form.
这里否定形容词'unhappy'代替了'happy',修改后加入副词如'entirely'，'totally'，'completely',同时句子改为否定形式。
And now if you combine some of these techniques, you get the best example of diplomatic language in use.
如果你现在把这些技巧结合起来使用，你就会获得一个最好的外交实例。
“I’m afraid I haven’t been able to get through to our suppliers, so I’m not in a position to tell you when we can expect the delivery. Could you give me a little more time?”
4. Using qualifiers
使用修饰
Qualifiers are words used to modify other words and they increase or decrease the quality of the other words. Here’s a simple example:
限定词通常用来修饰其他单词，他们能够增加或者减少其他单词的力度。
It is very expensive.
Here the qualifier ‘very’ modifies the word ‘expensive’ and increases its quality.
这里的限定词'very'修饰'expensive',增加其语气和力度。
If we use qualifiers to decrease the quality of a word, they make great **‘softeners’ **like in technique one.
如果我们使用限定词修饰词来增加单词的力度，这里类似第一个技巧。
Other examples of qualifiers that can make great softeners are:
a little, a bit, a little bit, slight, slightly, small, one or two.
其他能够使句子更加“柔软”的修饰词是：a little, a bit, a little bit, slight, slightly, small, one or two.
These qualifiers will help you especially when you have to give bad news to your superiors or a client.
当你要传达坏消息给你的上级或客户时，这些修饰词会给你很大的帮助。
We are having problems with the new medical device.
we are having** one or two** problems with the new product.
We’re going to run over budget
We’re going to run **slightly **over budget.
The launch plans are behind schedule.
The launch plans are a little bit behind schedule.
5.Negative Question Forms
否定问句形式
Ahh, I love this one because having been a woman in a man’s world (Finance) for many years, I learned early on that when making suggestions, I would be better off using this technique instead of being too direct. This is not only a linguistic issue but a gender one too.
哈！我最喜欢这个技巧，我很早就知道，在提建议的时候，用这个技巧比直接表述要好很多，这不仅是语言技巧问题，也是一个性别问题。
I was told that my male colleagues wouldn’t appreciate a suggestion delivered in this way:
我的男同事不喜欢这种直接提出建议的方式：
We should change the wording of the investment warning in our brochures. (too direct and aggressive!)
Instead, I should say this:
你可以试试这么说：
Shouldn’t we change the wording of the investment warning in our brochures? (Remember you’re a woman and must sound more feminine!)如果你是女性，这样听起来更加女性化。
From a language point of view, yes it does sound a lot better, especially if you talking to a superior or a client. What we’ve done is to take a forceful sounding statement and turned it into an indirect suggestion by adding ‘not’ and making it into a negative question.
从语言角度来看，这听起来确实要好很多，尤其是当你和你的上级和客户交谈时。我们是将一个有力的声明变成间接的建议，通过加入‘not’否定词变成的否定句。
We use** shouldn’t, wouldn’t and couldn’t** for this purpose.
我们可以使用** shouldn’t, wouldn’t and couldn’t**来实现。
We must inform the shareholders immediately.
Wouldn’t it be a good idea to inform the shareholders immediately?
Couldn’t we arrange to inform the shareholders immediately?
6.Using the Past Continuous (Progressive)
使用过去进行时
You could also use the past continuous tense to sound more diplomatic.
你也可以使用过去进行时听起来会更得体。
I hope we can come to an agreement today.
I was hoping we could come to an agreement today.
The past continuous makes the sentence sound more hypothetical and hesitant, and therefore less direct. Here are a few more examples:
过去进行时使得句子听起来有着假设和犹豫的意味，听起来不那么直接，下面有更多的例子，来看一下：
I think we should offer Sally the job.
I **was thinking **we should offer Sally the job.
I plan to organise a conference call to discuss this issue.
I was planning to organise a conference call to discuss this issue.
7. Passive Voice
被动语态
While I advise my clients to avoid using the passive voice in business writing, it can be useful to use it to soften your language and introduce more politeness.
虽然我建议我的学员避免在商务写作中使用被动语态，但它是有用的，它能够“软化”你的语言听起来更有礼貌。
You have broken your promise!
This active voice sentence is brutally direct and if your aim is to avoid confrontation then you might consider using the passive voice to reduce the emotion in the sentence:
这个主动语态的表达太过直接，如果你的目标是避免正面对抗，你应该考虑被动语态来减少句子的情感因素。
A promise has been broken!
Here we are removing the subject (you) from the sentence completely and focusing on the object (the promise) and the action. The effect here is to place the blame on the action and not the person.
这里我们去掉主语（you），聚焦在对象（the promise）和行为上，这个作用是把指责推向行为而不是人。
Let’s have a look at a few more examples of diplomatic sentences using the passive voice:
让我们来看看更多使用被动语态的句子：
You said you were going to sign the contract today.
We were told that you were going to sign the contract today.
You agreed to lower your fees.
It was agreed you would lower your fees.
Now that your language tool box is full of phrases, you’re fully equipped to be a diplomatic ambassador for the English Language!
现在你的语言工具箱里有很多技巧，你完全有能力成为一个出色的外交大使！
Good luck!!!
祝你好运!
谢图图英语
持续更新商务英语TIPS！
内容翻译均代表个人观点
如有不当，欢迎指正！