You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Robert, and in today's lesson, we're going to learn how to use diplomatic language.
That means language that is careful or not too direct.
This lesson is part of our new series of fresh takes on some of our older lessons.
We've kept the same dialogue, but have new explanations and practice for our lower level learners.
What do I mean by diplomatic language?
Well, imagine you're in a meeting and you disagree with someone.
Is it okay to say, I disagree with you?
Well, maybe in some situations, but usually we need to be less direct.
For example, you could say, I'm not so sure I agree with that.
Using not so sure makes it softer or more diplomatic.
This kind of language is really important when we talk about problems, right?
And we can use careful language to downplay a problem.
What is downplay?
That means to make a problem seem less serious.
For example, maybe your coworker is worried about a computer problem.
You could downplay the problem by saying, there's no reason to think it will happen again.
You didn't say there isn't a problem, right?
You just made it seem less serious.
So, what kind of careful language will you learn today?
Well, you'll learn how to disagree carefully and how to guide people to a key idea.
You'll also learn how to interrupt politely, downplay a problem, and highlight the main point.
In the dialogue, you'll hear a teleconference between four managers who work for a guitar company.
In our last lesson, we heard Jack talking carefully about a problem at the factory.
Some workers got sick and the other managers were worried because the workers complained to the government.
Now those managers want to know more about what might happen to the factory.
As you listen, try to answer the following questions.
1.
Jack thinks the others are exaggerating or overstating the problem.
What does he say before he tells them this?
2.
Dan interrupts Jack when he's talking.
How does Dan do this?
What does he say?
3.
According to Jack, are these new problems?
Jack, this is Dan.
I understand what you're saying, but I'd like to point out that we heard these workers complain to the local government.
This could give us a bad reputation and we don't need the government looking for reasons to close the plant.
While I agree with a lot of what you say, I think you may be exaggerating the problem.
Worker complaints to the government are very routine.
We've had many similar worker complaints at our plant in the US as well.
Wouldn't you agree?
Jack, the point we're trying to make is that we'd like you to be more specific about what will or might happen because of this.
I can understand that you'd like to focus on production, but at the moment I'm afraid we have to give this our full attention.
Understood.
Well, tomorrow, government inspectors will come to the plant.
This is normal, of course, and they will talk to our workers and then decide on a penalty.
After that, they'll let us appeal to their local court system.
Sorry to interrupt.
Can we go back to the penalties for a moment?
What are we looking at here?
It could be a fine or a temporary shutdown while we change our processes.
And, of course, they could close down the plant.
But I don't expect that.
We've faced things like this before.
Angie, you might remember our problem with wood dust a couple of years ago.
Well, before I answer that, just let me check that I understand what you're saying.
We could be facing a complete shutdown of the plant because of these worker complaints.
Is that correct?
There's a very slight chance of that, but yes, it is possible.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look more closely at the careful language and vocabulary that the group used in their conversation.
As we go through the lesson, we'll also give you some more examples to practice.
To start off, let's go back a bit to the end of the Part 1 dialogue, where we hear Dan express his concerns.
Jack, this is Dan.
I understand what you're saying, but I'd like to point out that we heard these workers complain to the local government.
This could give us a bad reputation and we don't need the government looking for reasons to close the plant.
Dan sounds very worried about the situation.
The workers who were injured at the factory have complained to the local government.
In other words, they reported the problem to local officials.
And Dan even mentions closing the plant.
That sounds like a pretty serious concern, doesn't it?
Well, let's hear how Jack responds to this.
While I agree with a lot of what you say, I think you may be exaggerating the problem.
Jack wants to disagree with Dan.
And how does he do that?
Well, he starts by saying he actually agrees with a lot of what Dan says.
That's Jack's way of introducing his disagreement.
And his disagreement isn't too strong. he says that Dan may be exaggerating the problem.
Remember, modals are very useful when we are being polite and careful.
Instead of saying you are exaggerating, Jack says you may be exaggerating.
But what is exaggerating?
That means overstating or making the problem sound more serious than it really is.
How about trying some more careful ways of disagreeing?
You'll see that we often introduce our idea with a positive statement first, or we say that we understand or agree with the other person.
Are you ready?
How about looking at this a different way?
I'm not against your whole idea, just the part about pricing.
While I agree with a lot of what you say, I think you may be exaggerating the problem.
I'm not so sure I'm going to agree with this.
I'd like to hear more about it, though.
I can understand exactly how you feel, but at the moment it's just not an option.
Great.
Did you notice how these examples make our disagreement softer?
Now, let's get back to the dialogue.
Jack wants to explain why he's not too worried.
Worker complaints to the government are very routine.
We've had many similar worker complaints at our plant in the U.S. as well.
Wouldn't you agree?
Can you see what Jack is doing?
He's trying to show the others that they shouldn't worry about the complaints because they are routine or common.
But as we can hear, Jim is still worried.
Jack, the point we're trying to make is that we'd like you to be more specific about what will or might happen because of this.
Jim doesn't even really answer Jack's question about whether he agrees.
Instead, what does he do?
Well, he wants to emphasize a key point or idea.
The key point is that they want Jack to say exactly what might happen, because Jack has been avoiding the issue.
When we need to emphasize a key point like this, we lead our listener into it.
To do that.
Jim used the expression.
The point we're trying to make is that There are some other great ways to emphasize a key point.
All of these examples end with that, so you can just put on your important idea at the end.
Ready to practice?
Well, the point I'm trying to make is that Well, what I'm trying to say is that?
What I mean is that All I'm trying to say is that Well, what I'm getting at is that Now Jim has a bit more to say, and you might notice that he uses a structure we learned in our last lesson, the yes-but structure.
I can understand that you'd like to focus on production, but at the moment I'm afraid we have to give this our full attention.
So, does Jack finally say exactly what might happen?
Let's listen.
Understood.
Well...
Tomorrow, government inspectors will come to the plant.
This is normal, of course, and they will talk to our workers and then decide on a penalty.
After that, they'll let us appeal to their local court system.
Sorry to interrupt.
Can we go back to the penalties for a moment?
What are we looking at here?
Yes, Jack is finally talking about exactly what might happen.
Inspectors from the government will come and might decide on a penalty.
A penalty can be a fine or other punishment for breaking a rule.
Penalties are a problem, and Jack doesn't want to talk about the problem too much, right?
So, he starts to explain something about the court system.
But Dan doesn't let him finish.
Dan wants to know more about the penalties, so he needs to interrupt Jack.
You might think interrupting someone is rude.
Well, it can be, if you don't do it carefully.
You heard Dan say, sorry to interrupt, but... Apologizing is a careful way to interrupt.
We can also ask permission to interrupt using could or can or may.
Let's practice some of these ways of politely interrupting.
Could I just interrupt for a moment?
Pardon me for interrupting, but... May I say something about that?
Can I jump in here?
Could I speak to that?
Now, why did Dan interrupt?
Well, because he wanted to hear more information about the possible penalty.
Let's get back to the dialogue to hear how Jack answers Dan's question.
It could be a fine or a temporary shutdown while we change our processes.
And, of course, they could close down the plant.
But I don't expect that.
We've faced things like this before.
Angie, you might remember our problem with wood dust a couple of years ago.
So Jack gives three possible penalties.
They could get a fine, which means they have to pay money.
Or they could close for a short time.
Or they could close down the plant.
That means it's closed completely.
No more Guitar Factory.
That's a pretty serious penalty.
But once again, Jack doesn't want the others to worry too much.
He wants to downplay the penalties.
Remember that downplay means to make something sound not so serious.
To do that, we can show how the problem is not unusual.
That's what Jack does when he says, we faced or dealt with things like this before.
You can also downplay a problem by saying it's small or unlikely.
Let's try some more ways of downplaying a problem.
Ready?
I'm not too worried about the problem.
It's nothing we haven't dealt with before.
The chance of a bug is really very small.
We almost never see it happen.
There were a few complaints, but really, nobody gets 100% positive reviews.
Well, we fixed the machine and there's no reason to think it'll happen again.
Great.
Now, Jack keeps trying to downplay the problem, right?
But the others continue to worry and ask questions, as you can hear.
Well, before I answer that, just let me check that I understand what you're saying.
We could be facing a complete shutdown of the plant because of these worker complaints.
Is that correct?
Jack mentioned that the plant might close down or shut down.
That's a pretty big deal.
So Angie wants to go back to that idea before answering Jack's question.
She doesn't want Jack to skip over the important points.
That's why she wants to check that she understands.
And she does that by repeating the idea of a complete shutdown and asking for confirmation with is that correct?
Often, when someone is trying to downplay or avoiding a problem, we need to be more direct.
Jim Dan and Angie have been carefully asking questions, but at this point Angie wants a direct answer.
So, how else can we talk about an important point?
Let's try a few ways of asking questions and one way of introducing the main point in response.
What's the bottom line?
What are we after?
What's the main issue here?
I think the most important point is that... Now let's give Jack the last word.
How does he answer Angie's question?
There's a very slight chance of that, but yes, it is possible.
Jack seems to be a master at downplaying problems, doesn't he?
He doesn't just say, yes, it's possible.
First, he makes sure to say there's only a slight chance, which means it probably won't happen.
Well, we've listened to a very careful conversation, haven't we?
Of course, this is a pretty extreme example.
We don't always speak so carefully or indirectly.
But if you're talking about a sensitive topic or a problem, or if you're giving someone feedback, then it's very important to be diplomatic.
Now, let's practice some of this careful language that we've heard in this lesson.
Let's start with disagreeing carefully.
Imagine you're in a meeting with some coworkers.
You will hear an opinion from one of your coworkers.
Then I will suggest how you can respond.
Use my suggestion to disagree carefully.
I'll guide you through each step of the practice and will provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
I think the marketing plan looks great.
Respond by saying that you like most of the plan, just not the advertising ideas.
Well, I like most of the plan, just not the ideas for advertising.
I really think that the drop in sales is due to the poor economy.
Respond by saying that while the poor economy is one factor, there are others as well.
While the poor economy is one factor, I believe there are others as well.
The technicians are very slow to respond.
Respond by saying that you understand the technicians are slow, but that they do a good job.
Answer.
I understand that the technicians are slow, but they do a good job.
Great work.
Now let's try practicing downplaying a problem.
Imagine that a co-worker is talking about a problem.
You will hear a statement about the problem.
Then I will suggest how you can respond.
Use my suggestion to downplay the problem.
I'll guide you through each step of the practice and will provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
The late deliveries are causing a lot of problems.
Answer.
Well, I'm not so worried because I've handled the same problem before.
If the server crashes again this week, we might lose customers.
Answer.
There is really no reason to think that the server will crash again.
There's a huge problem with the production schedule this month.
Respond by saying that there is a slight problem but that it's not a big cause for concern.
Answer.
Well, there is a slight problem but it's not a big cause for concern.
To finish off, let's practice some of the vocabulary we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear If you don't follow the safety rules, you may have to pay a, You can say If you don't follow the safety rules, you may have to pay a fine.
After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Let's begin.
Answer.
Can you explain more clearly the point you're trying to make?
The weather forecast said there is a slight of rain on the day of our event.
Answer.
The weather forecast said there is a slight chance of rain on the day of our event.
Scott, i want you to give that proposal your full until it's finished.
Answer scott, i want you to give that proposal your full attention until it's finished.
When you say there have been a million complaints, i think you are Answer.
When you say there have been a million complaints, I think you are exaggerating.
We've learned about disagreeing carefully, interrupting, and downplaying a problem.
We've also learned how to guide people to a key idea and talk about important points.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
