BE 11：如何优雅地用英语拒绝商务邀请

这里是商务英语播客第11集。

This is the Business English Podcast episode 11.

如何用英语优雅地拒绝商务邀请。

How to say no to a business invitation with style in English.

欢迎收听来自All Ears English的商务英语播客。

Welcome to the Business English Podcast from All Ears English.

获取你在全球商务中实现梦想所需的英语技能。

Get the English skills you need to achieve your dreams in global business.

无论是演讲、会议还是办公室聚会，这里是真实商务英语，由你最喜欢的美国主持人Lindsay和Michelle带来，她们分别来自美国纽约和科罗拉多州。

For a presentation, a meeting, or your office party, this is Real Business English with your favorite American hosts, Lindsay and Michelle, coming to you from New York City and Colorado, USA.

嘿，Michelle。

Hey, Michelle.

最近怎么样？

What's shaking?

你今天过得如何？

How are doing today?

嘿，林赛。

Hey, Lindsay.

我挺好的。

I am pretty good.

我挺好的。

I'm pretty good.

天太冷了。

It's so cold.

天哪。

Oh my god.

昨天下了雪，真是让我受不了。

It just killed me that it snowed yesterday.

我当时特别……

I was in such...

我得承认，通常我心情挺好的，但昨天我心情很糟。

I gotta admit, usually, I'm in a good mood, but yesterday, I was in a bad

天哪。

Oh my gosh.

这……

It...

所以真的下雪了。

So it really snowed.

下了好多雪。

It snowed a lot.

下了大概四

It snowed like four

到五英寸的雪，就在昨天。

or five inches here yesterday.

我之前不知道。

I didn't know that.

哇。

Wow.

这里只是又冷又下雨。

Here, it's just cold and rainy.

各位，我们录制这段的时候是四月初。

And we're recording this, guys, in early April.

我知道这期节目会在四月底，甚至可能五月才播出。

I know this is coming out at end of April, or possibly even in May.

但不管怎样，四月初居然下雪了，最让我生气的是，春天本该来了却还下雪。

But anyways, we got snow in early April, and nothing makes me angrier than when we get snow when it's supposed to be spring.

这太不像话了。

That's just wrong.

我懂。

I know.

我也是。

Me too.

天哪。

Oh, gosh.

好的。

Okay.

嗯，我一直在看天气预报，短期内不会好转。

Well, and I keep on looking at the forecast, and it's not improving anytime soon.

所以……

So...

好吧。

Alright.

我们不会在天气上抱怨太多，但没关系。

We won't we won't go off on our weather rant too much more here, but that's okay.

所以……

So...

好吧。

Alright.

至少我们可以待在家里，整天录播客，米歇尔。

At least we can stay in and just podcast all day, Michelle.

没错。

That's right.

那挺有意思的。

That's fun.

我们很喜欢做播客。

We love podcasting.

好。

Alright.

不错。

Cool.

那么，米歇尔，我们今天聊什么？

So, Michelle, what are we talking about today?

我们要回答一位听众的问题，关于什么的？

We're gonna answer a question from one of our listeners about what?

好的。

Okay.

好的，我们要聊的是如何拒绝一个邀请。

Well, we are going to talk about how to say no to an invitation.

具体来说，是商务邀请。

And specifically, a business invitation.

没错。

Exactly.

对。

Exactly.

所以，各位，我们会在一些节目里多关注一下商务话题。

So guys, we're gonna focus a little bit more on some of the episodes here.

不是所有节目，但有些节目会涉及商务主题，因为我们知道你们正在为工作而学英语。

Not all of them, but some of them at All Ears English on business topics, because we know that you guys you guys are working on your English for work.

你们想成功。

You wanna succeed.

你们想升职。

You wanna get that promotion.

你想赚更多的钱，想更好地养家。

You wanna make more money, and you wanna support your family better.

而实现这个目标的方法就是在工作中用好英语。

And the way you can do that is through English at work.

所以我们会帮你做到这一点，从今天的节目开始。

So we're gonna help you with that, starting off with today's episode.

没错。

Exactly.

好的。

Okay.

那么，米歇尔，我们来读一下这个问题吧。

So Michelle, let's go ahead and read the question.

这个问题来自黄瑞，可能是在中国。

The question was from Rui Huang from maybe China.

其实我不太确定这位学生来自哪里。

I'm not sure actually where the student is from.

米歇尔，你来读一下这个问题好吗？

But Michelle, you wanna go ahead and read the question?

好的。

Sure.

好。

Okay.

好。

Okay.

问题在这里。

Here it is.

嗨，林赛和米歇尔。

Hi, Lindsay and Michelle.

谢谢你们这个很棒的播客。

Thanks for this great podcast.

它真的提高了我的英语水平。

It has really improved my English.

太好了。

Yay.

不客气。

You're welcome.

我在想，拒绝邀请的合适方式是什么呢？

I wonder now what is an appropriate way to say no to invitations?

好的。

Okay.

这个问题很简单。

So simple question.

不过是个好问题。

Good question, though.

我觉得我们还没讨论过这个细致的问题，米歇尔。

I don't think that we have covered this nuanced question yet, Michelle.

我真的很期待深入探讨这个话题。

I'm really actually excited to dive into this.

因为这真的是一个能帮到我们听众的好话题。

Because this is a really good example of a topic that's gonna help our listeners.

还有，各位听众，记住，今天在听的时候，如果你觉得从今天的节目里收获很多，忙着记笔记，那不如直接去 allearsenglish.com/transcripts 拿文字稿。

And guys, remember, as you're listening today, if you feel like you're really getting a lot from today's episode, and you're scrambling to write everything down, instead, just go over and grab the transcripts at allearsenglish.com/transcripts.

好吗？

Okay?

不错。

Nice.

那么……

So...

好的，Michelle。

Okay, Michelle.

我们今天要教听众怎么拒绝，但不仅仅是拒绝，而是怎么拒绝商务邀请。

We're gonna show our listeners today how to say no, but not just how to say no, but how to say no to a business invitation.

好的。

Okay.

这很重要，因为有时候你可能会……

That's important, because sometimes you can be can...

你可能会因为拒绝而感到非常糟糕和内疚，或者觉得不应该拒绝，尤其是在工作场合。

You can feel really bad and guilty about saying no, or like you're not supposed to say no, especially in the workplace.

你不觉得吗？

Don't you think so?

哦，是的。

Oh, yeah.

我觉得你在拒绝的时候必须非常小心。

I think you have to be really careful about how you turn down.

再说一次，拒绝邀请是谢绝的另一种说法。

Again, turn down in invitation is another way to say decline.

你拒绝商务邀请的方式很重要，因为这些可能是很好的机会，但也许你只是没有时间，而你希望这些机会能继续找上门来。

How you turn down business invitations, because, you know, they could be great opportunities, but maybe you just don't have the time, and you want those opportunities to keep coming your way.

完全正确。

Exactly.

但如果你说错话，对方就不会再邀请你了。

But if you say the wrong thing, the person will not come back to you and and invite you again.

你肯定不希望那样。

And you don't want that to happen.

对。

Exactly.

没错。

Exactly.

所以，Michelle，是的。

So, Michelle, yeah.

那么，当我们拒绝邀请时，有哪些事情是你觉得我们应该考虑的，也是我们的听众应该注意的？

So what are some of the things that you should consider, that we wanna consider for our listeners when we turn down an invitation?

当我们对邀请说不的时候？

When we say no to the invitation?

好的。

Okay.

嗯，首先呢，你要让对方知道，你很感激他们想到了你。

Well well, the first thing is, you know, you wanna acknowledge that you appreciate that they thought of you.

完全同意。

Totally.

这可不是小事，你知道吗。

It's it's not a small thing, you know.

我觉得这对任何人都适用，不管你是为公司打工，还是自己单干。

And I think that this is applicable for anyone if you're working for a company or if you're self employed.

如果你是自己单干，这一点尤其重要，因为机会总是不断找上门来，你不可能什么都答应。

It's especially important if you're self employed, because, you know, constantly opportunities are coming your way, and you can't say yes to everything.

对吧？

Okay?

没错。

Exactly.

还有第二点，就是你不一定非要给出理由。

And also, I mean, the second thing is that you don't have to give a reason.

你可以直接说不。

You can just say, no.

就是……

It's...

你可以直接拒绝。

You know, you can just decline.

我觉得我们总是感到社交压力，非得给个理由。

I think we feel the social pressure to always give a reason.

我知道我自己就有这种压力。

I know I feel that pressure.

米歇尔，你也有这种感觉吗？总是要找借口或理由。

Do you feel that, Michelle, to always give an excuse or a reason?

我觉得这是很常见的事。

I think that that's a common thing.

你想说，哦，不。

You know, you wanna, oh, no.

我不能去，因为什么什么的。

I can't because blah blah blah blah blah.

但这不是必须的。

But, you know, that's not required.

没必要。

It's not necessary.

对，没错。

So Right.

直接拒绝就好。

You know, just decline.

我们现在就教大家具体怎么做。

And we're gonna show you guys exactly how to do that right now.

那么，拒绝邀请时，我们要考虑的第三点是什么呢？

So what's the third thing that we wanna think about when we turn down an invitation?

第三点要考虑的是，保持这段关系的健康。

The third thing you wanna think about is to just keep the connection healthy.

这对你来说意味着什么，Lindsay？

What does that mean to you, Lindsay?

嗯，对我来说，这意味着这个人邀请你做这件事是有原因的。

Well, that just means to me that there's a reason this person asked you, you know, to do this thing.

我们快速举几个可能会遇到的邀请例子吧。

Let's just give some quick examples of some invitations that might happen, you know.

比如说，在商业领域，在这个节目里，我会邀请iTalki的老师来上我们的节目，这就是一个商业机会的例子，对那位老师来说是一个商业邀请。

For example, in the business world, well, on this show, you know, I invite teachers from iTalki to come on our show, and that's one example of a business opportunity, a business invitation for that teacher.

那位老师拒绝或接受的方式非常重要，对吧，他或她使用的措辞也很关键。

And it's very important the way that that teacher declines or accepts, right, the words that that he or she uses.

这只是一个例子。

That's just one example.

我们可能会收到的另一个商业邀请的例子是什么呢？

What would be an example of another business invitation we might get?

嗯，让我想想。

Well, let's see.

这让我想到一些很简单的事情，比如一起吃个午饭。

I mean, it makes me even think of something as simple as, like, going to lunch.

午饭。

Lunch.

我想到的是那种午餐会议。

I was thinking like a lunch meeting.

午餐……

A lunch...

非正式的，比如……

An informal, like...

可能是另一个公司的人，你平时不直接合作，但你想认识一下这个人。

You know, maybe it's someone from another company that you don't immediately work with, but maybe you wanna get to know that person.

也许将来你有兴趣在那家公司或那个行业工作。

Maybe in the future, you're interested in working for that company or in that industry.

对。

Exactly.

所以办公室里可能会有一些会议或者额外的活动，比如像……

So there, you know, there might be certain meetings or certain extracurricular things, like, in the office that come up, you know, even even something like...

我知道办公室里有不同的俱乐部，可能……

I know offices have different, you know, clubs and, you know, may...

甚至可能像锻炼身体或者搞点什么比赛之类的。

Maybe even, like, exercising or do some sort of contest or whatever.

然后有人可能会一群人一起参与，这时候你就会觉得有点不自在。

And somebody, you know, might get involved as a group, and then you feel, like, a little funny.

对。

Exactly.

这些都是很好的例子，在企业界里。

Those are all good examples, like, in the corporate world.

在公司里，除了坐在办公桌前，还有其他方式建立业务关系。

That, you know, there are other ways to build business relationships in corporations beyond just behind our desk.

我们可以加入……

You know, we could join...

我们可以中午和同事一起去上健身课。

We could, you know, go take an exercise class at lunchtime with someone from work.

如果他们邀请我们一起去，那在某种程度上也算是一种商务邀请，因为我们在建立业务关系。

And if they invite us to do that, then that's kind of, in some ways, a business invitation, because we're building a business relationship.

这真的很有意思。

That's really interesting.

所以……

So...

好的。

Alright.

所以当我们这样做的时候，我们要保持这种关系的健康。

So when we do that, we wanna keep that connection healthy.

对我来说，这意味着我们要确保他们愿意……

And to me, that just means that we wanna make sure that they wanna...

他们觉得没问题，下次还会再来邀请我们。

They feel okay to come back and invite us again another time.

这就是第四点。

And that is the the fourth thing.

你得暗示一下，希望下次还能被邀请。

You know, you wanna hint that you would like to be invited another time.

别把话说死。

Don't just close it off.

没错。

Exactly.

对。

Exactly.

那我们现在就教大家怎么用英语做这些事。

So we're gonna show you guys how to do all of these things in English right now.

第一点，还是说要先表达你感谢他们的邀请。

So the first thing was, again, to acknowledge that you appreciate that they invited you.

米歇尔，有哪些说法可以用呢？

What are some phrases we could use to do this, Michelle?

好的。

Okay.

嗯，你可以说，哇。

Well, you could say, wow.

非常感谢你给我这个机会。

Thank you so much for the opportunity.

我喜欢这个说法。

I like that.

哇。

Wow.

我喜欢你的语调。

I like your intonation.

你能做到吗？

Can you do that?

谢谢。

Thanks.

哇。

Wow.

好。

Good.

我……

I...

非常感谢你是一个非常有礼貌的表达感谢的方式。

Thank you so much is a very polite way to say thank you.

一种非常充分的感谢。

A very thorough thank you.

另外，我真的很感激这个机会，也是我们可以说的另一种表达。

And then also, I really appreciate the opportunity is another thing we could say.

继续……

Keep...

注意，这种表达更适合比较随意的场合，比如吃午饭的时候。

Be careful of saying this for more, like, casual, like, lunch things.

我们

We

你可能想把它保持在，比如，非常感谢，或者我非常感激，比如，你……

You might wanna keep it to, like, thank you so so much, or I really appreciate, like, you...

你在问我或者类似的事情。

You're asking me or something like that.

但是，对于更简单的事情，比如午餐或者某种俱乐部，如果你说……可能会听起来有点奇怪。

But, like, for something for something, like, more simple, like lunch or some sort of a club, like, you know, you might sound a little funny if you say...

如果你把它说成是一个机会的话。

If you talk about it as an opportunity.

我不知道。

I don't know.

确实。

That's true.

说得好。

That's a good point.

我们得小心使用“机会”这个词。

We have to be careful with the word opportunity.

就像我刚才提到的，有时候我会邀请老师来我的节目做客，那绝对是个机会，因为那是个非常大的机会。

You know, as I just mentioned, sometimes I invite teachers to come on the show for my talkie as guests, and that's definitely an opportunity, because that's a huge huge opportunity.

但如果只是邀请吃个午饭，那就不算是什么机会了。

But if it's just a lunch invite, then it's not exactly an opportunity.

所以对于更随意的事情，你可以说，比如，我真的很感激。

So for for the more casual things, you can, you know, say, like, I really appreciate it.

哦，就像，那就是……

Oh, like, that's that's how...

我不知道。

You know, I don't know.

没错。

Exactly.

没错。

Exactly.

所以关键是要听母语者在拒绝邀请时怎么说，看看这些正式程度有什么区别。

So the key here is listening to what native speakers say, you know, when they decline invitations to see what these levels of formality are.

对，没错。

And Exactly.

还有什么别的话可以用来表达我们的感谢呢？

What's another thing we could say to acknowledge that we appreciate?

嗯，我们要说第二个吗？

Well, do we do the second one?

还是……

Or...

我们已经说了第二个了。

We did the second one.

所以……

So...

好的。

Okay.

第三个是，我很荣幸你能想到我。

The third one is I'm honored that you thought of me for this.

那会……

That would...

这让我想到，比如有人邀请你加入一个项目之类的。

That reminds me of, like, when someone invites you to join a project or something.

这个也不适合午餐场合。

Also not good for the lunch.

也不太……

Also not

……适合午餐邀约。

really that great for a lunch opportunity.

但这些对于工作中的特殊机会来说真的非常重要。

But these are but these are really, really important for these, you know, special opportunities at work.

当你……

Where you,

对。

like Yeah.

特别的项目，就像Lindsay说的，或者特别的会议。

You know, special project, like Lindsay said, or a special meeting.

也许有人请你主持会议。

Maybe somebody's asking you to lead a meeting

或者别的什么。

or something.

是的。

Yes.

完全同意。

Totally.

最后一个，Michelle，非常正式。

And the last one, Michelle, is very formal.

我觉得我会在超级正式的场合用这个。

Like, I I I think I would use this in, like, super formal situations.

那是什么？

What is it?

很遗憾，我不得不拒绝。

Unfortunately, I have to decline.

所以那可能是用在非常正式的场合，比如你是在为女王工作之类的。

So that might be for, you know, something really formal like you're like you're working for the queen or something.

那是

That was

不。

No.

我开玩笑的。

I'm just joking.

其实……

It's real...

也不是那么……

It's not that...

这不仅仅限于那种场合，不过，是的，这更适合正式场合。

It's not only reserved for that, but, yeah, this would be for, you know, more formal situation.

没错。

Exactly.

还有其他几种拒绝的方式。

And a couple of other ways to decline.

很遗憾，这次我没办法参加。

Unfortunately, I won't be able to participate this time.

啊，这个不错。

Ah, that's good.

我喜欢加上“这次”这个说法。

I like the this time edition.

你为什么喜欢这个？

Why do you like that?

这有什么作用？

What does that do?

这为下次留了余地。

It leaves the door open for next time.

为下次留了余地，这正是我们想要的。

Leaves the door open for next time, and that's what we wanna do.

没错。

Exactly.

而且这样语气更委婉。

And it softens it.

你懂吧？

You know?

很遗憾，这次我没法参加。

Unfortunately, I won't be able to participate.

听起来很绝对。

Sounds like very final.

但你说“这次”的时候，就好像在说，嗯，我也不确定。

But when you say this time, it's like, well, I don't know.

我不知道下次会发生什么。

I don't know what's gonna happen next time.

没错。

Exactly.

当我们说“下次”、“这次”这样的话时，其实是在暗示你希望未来还有更多的机会。

When we drop these things like next time, this time, that implies that you want there to be other times in the future.

这是建立联系的一种方式。

You know, that is a way of building a connection.

就像在约会中，我以前也用过这种说法，比如“哦，也许下次我们可以一起去”。

I mean, even like in the dating world, like, I've used that before when I say, oh, maybe next time we can do that.

你是在暗示你想再见到那个人，明白吗？

You're implying that you wanna see the person again, you know?

真神奇，这些小小的词语竟然能真正拉近关系。

It's amazing how these little words can really tip a connection.

确实如此。

It's so true.

这挺酷的。

It's pretty cool.

好的。

Okay.

我们还能说什么别的？

What's another thing we could say?

还有一个。

One other.

你可以说，我真希望能和你一起去，但我去不了。

You could say, I wish I could join you, but I can't.

好的。

Okay.

不错。

Good.

我真的很喜欢这个。

I really like that one.

那个……

That's...

那句用在午餐邀请上会很合适。

That one would work great for the lunch invite.

没错。

Exactly.

对。

Exactly.

这个正好适合那个场合。

This one is perfect for that.

好的。

Okay.

还有几种方法可以保持关系健康。

And there are couple of other ways to keep the connection healthy.

这是我们之前提到要确保做到的，就是在拒绝邀请时要考虑到的。

That's one other thing we said we wanna make sure we do, that we think about when we we decline an invitation.

我们怎么保持这段关系的健康呢，米歇尔？

How do we keep the connection healthy, Michelle?

我们该怎么说？

What do we say?

好的。

Okay.

嗯，你可以说，希望下次再有类似的事情，你能告诉我。

Well, one thing you could say is, I hope you'll let me know if something like this comes up again.

好的。

Okay.

我喜欢这个说法。

I like that.

我喜欢这个说法。

I like that.

或者，我希望下次能接受这个邀请。

Or, I hope to be able to accept the invitation another time.

很好。

Very nice.

有点啰嗦。

That's little wordy.

确实有点啰嗦。

That's a little wordy.

这需要

It takes a

很长时间才能说完。

long time to say that.

所以这可能更适合写在邮件里。

So that may be better written in an email.

我能理解。

I could see that.

好的。

Okay.

还有哪两件事你会说，比如在写邮件拒绝邀请时，为了保持关系健康，你会怎么说？

What are two other things that you would say, maybe for example, if you're writing an email and you're declining to end that that response to keep the connection healthy?

嗯，你可以说，我们保持联系吧。

Well, you could say, let's stay in touch Mhmm.

或者保持联系。

Or keep in touch.

这两种说法都很好。

Those are both good.

所以这些是保持沟通桥梁畅通的好方法，确保你和对方仍然保持联系，因为你不希望他们觉得你永远不会接受那个邀请。

So those are good ways to just keep that bridge open and make sure you're still connected to the person, because you don't want them to think that you're never going to accept that invitation.

没错。

Exactly.

这些都非常有用，Lindsay。

These are all really useful, Lindsay.

Lindsay。

Lindsay.

哦，哦，好，好，不错。

Oh, Oh, well, well, good.

好。

Good.

我希望每一位

I I hope hope that every one

听众都能去试试这些表达，不要害怕多尝试一下。

of our listeners are gonna go out and use these and not be afraid to experiment a little.

各位，这就是提高英语的方法，就是去实践，至少试试今天提到的其中一个短语。

Guys, that is the way that you improve your English, is that you go out and you try at least one of these phrases.

今天我们给了你们很多这样的表达。

We're giving you a bunch of them today.

你们只需要尝试其中一个，然后把它永久地融入你们的词汇中。

All you need to do is try one of them, and bring that into your vocabulary permanently.

好吗？

Okay?

那我们就给听众们演示一下怎么做吧，Michelle。

So let's show them how it's done, Michelle.

我们来做个角色扮演对话吧。

Let's go ahead and do a little role play conversation.

你准备好了吗？

Are you ready?

我准备好了。

I'm ready.

好的。

Okay.

那我们开始吧。

So here we go.

那么……

So...

嗨，Michelle。

Hi, Michelle.

我能跟你聊一分钟吗？

Can I speak with you for just a minute?

当然可以，Lindsay。

Sure, Lindsay.

怎么了？

What's up?

是这样的，Michelle，下周我要去参加一个会议，会见全国其他100位播客主持人和媒体制作人。

Well, Michelle, next week, I'm going to a conference to meet with a 100 other podcasters and media producers around the country.

这次会议会重点讨论配音工作，这正好是你擅长的领域。

It'll be heavily focused on voice work, the kind of thing that's right up your alley.

哦，哇。

Oh, wow.

听起来太棒了。

That sounds amazing.

你愿意和我一起去参加会议吗？

Would you like to join me at the conference?