Office English: Clear communication

工作中哪些词或表达让你感到困惑？

What words and phrases confuse you at work?

我在工作中觉得不清楚的那些说法，通常是人们在日常生活中为了显得礼貌而用的语言。

The language that I find unclear at work tends to be the language that you would use in your everyday life to maybe appear polite.

不过，我本人在日常生活中也会用这类表达方式。

However, I am the type of person who does use these types of words and this language in my everyday.

我觉得每个行业都有不少行话，同一个行业里不同的人对同一术语的理解也不一样。

I guess every industry has lots of jargon and certain things mean different things to different parts of the same industry.

而且很多时候，根本说不清对方到底在讲什么。

And it's not always clear what is actually being talked about.

今天我们要聊的是，如何在工作中提问和澄清问题。

Today, we're talking about how to ask questions and clarify things at work.

大家好，欢迎收听BBC英语教学的《职场英语》。

Hello, and welcome to Office English from BBC Learning English.

我们又回来了，继续聊聊工作中需要用到的语言。

We're back to talk about the language you need in the workplace.

我是皮帕。

I'm Pippa.

我是菲尔。

And I'm Phil.

请访问 bbclearningenglish.com，跟着播客文本一起阅读。

Read along with this podcast using the transcript at bbclearningenglish.com.

所以菲尔，节目一开始，我们听到了BBC学习英语团队提到他们觉得不清楚的表达方式。

So Phil, we heard from our BBC Learning English colleagues at the start of the programme about the kind of language they find unclear.

尼尔觉得行话难懂，贝卡说礼貌用语有时也让人困惑，尽管她在工作中还是会经常用。

Neil finds jargon unclear, and Becca says polite language can be unclear, although she still uses it a lot at work.

那皮帕，你在工作中觉得哪些词句或表达方式比较难懂？

So Pippa, what words and phrases or ways of speaking do you find unclear at work?

我觉得和贝卡类似，一些礼貌性的说法确实容易让人困惑。

Well, I think similar to Becca, some polite phrases can be confusing.

比如老是说‘或许’、‘可能’这类词。

For example, saying things like perhaps and maybe.

我觉得这些说法在讨论问题时挺有用的。

I think these can be useful when you're discussing things.

但最后还是得有人明确表态，把话说清楚。

But then I think you need somebody to make a decision and be clear with their language at the end of the discussion.

不然的话，我们根本搞不清到底该听哪个‘也许’、哪个‘可能’。

Otherwise, you never know which perhaps, which maybe we should be doing.

没错。

Yes.

当然了。

Definitely.

我觉得尼尔对行话说得挺有意思。

I think Neil said something interesting about jargon as well.

当你突然和平时不常合作的人一起工作，他们用的行话和缩写跟你不一样，别人都懂就你不懂，那真的会很麻烦，因为你很难开口说：‘不好意思，能解释一下吗？’

Because if you're suddenly working with people you don't normally work with, and maybe they have different jargon and different acronyms, and everyone else understands what's going on and you don't, it can that can be that can be very difficult because it can be hard to say, sorry.

你能解释一下吗？

Can you explain that?

是的。

Yes.

在这期节目中，我们会聊聊怎么确保自己表达清楚，以及如何弄明白别人的意思。

So in this episode, we'll discuss how to make sure that what you're saying is clear, and how to clarify things.

也就是说，你要先确认自己真的理解了。

That means make sure that you understand.

好，我们先从邮件和书面沟通说起。

Okay, let's start with emails and written language.

菲尔，假设你收到同事发来的一封邮件，里面是你工作需要的信息，但你觉得内容模糊，不确定自己有没有理解对。

Phil, imagine you receive an email from a colleague at work with some information that you need for your job, but you find the email unclear and you're not sure if you've understood things correctly.

那最好的做法是什么？

What's the best approach?

好的。

Okay.

我觉得第一步，先确认自己有没有认真读完这封邮件。

Well, I guess the first thing to do is just make sure that you've read the email properly.

你一天可能收到很多邮件，匆匆扫一眼就过去了，但这样读邮件往往不够仔细。

Maybe you get loads of emails in a day and you read through them quite quickly, and we don't always read them very well when we do that.

对。

Yeah.

另一个办法是问问身边的同事。

I suppose another thing you can do is check with a colleague.

找旁边的人确认一下，这样很有帮助。

So just sense checking with somebody next to you is helpful.

你也可以直接联系发邮件的那个人。

And then you can also often try to speak to the person who sent you the email.

说不定这封邮件他发给了很多人，你也不想打扰其他人。

Maybe it's an email they sent to loads of people and you just wanna you don't wanna bother everyone else.

你还可以回复邮件，或者干脆只回复给那个人，而不是群发回复。

And you can also, of course, reply to the email or maybe reply just specifically to that person rather than reply all.

你可以说：‘你这里说的，是不是这个意思？’

And saying something like, when you say this, do you mean this?

所以，先复述他们说的话，再讲讲你理解的意思，做个对比。

So say what they've said, and then say what you've understood for comparison.

他们很快就会告诉你，你有没有理解对。

And they will very quickly tell you whether you've understood it correctly or not.

好的，这是书面沟通，那口头交流呢？

Okay, that's written communication, but what about spoken language?

工作中经常会有会议或非正式交谈，你可能会对别人说的话或问的问题感到困惑。

Often, have meetings and informal conversations at work where you might be confused about what someone has said or asked you.

那我们该怎么处理这种情况呢？

So how can we deal with that?

我觉得怎么处理这个问题，得看具体情境，比如是不是你所说的那种闲聊，或者是不是一场人很多的正式会议。

Well, I think how you deal with this might depend on the context, whether, as you say, it's an informal chat, whether it's a big meeting with lots of people.

我一般认为，最好当场就把事情弄清楚。

I would usually say that it's best to clarify things in the moment.

别人说完之后马上澄清误解要容易得多，因为他们还记得自己刚才在说什么。

It's much easier to clear up any misunderstanding straight after someone's spoken because they'll remember what they were talking about.

这种情况下，你可能需要打断一下。

So you probably need to interrupt in that case.

你可以说：‘不好意思，能打断你一下吗？’

You can say, could I just stop you for a moment?

我想确认一下某件事。

I just want to clarify something.

如果你觉得在会议中当众提问不太合适，也可以选择会后私下沟通。

Also, it might be something that you want to do later if you wanna do it outside the meeting, you don't feel that you can speak up in front of everyone else.

你可以说：‘我想确认一下，我有没有理解对？’

And you might want to say something like, can I just check I understood something?

或者：‘我们想法一致吗？’

Or are we on the same page?

我想确保咱们对事情的理解是一致的。

I wanna make sure that we understand things the same way.

对。

Yeah.

那个说法，‘我们想法一致吗？’

That expression, are we on the same page?

真的很不错。

Is really nice.

其实就是想问，我们对事情的理解是不是一样的？

It just basically means, do we understand things in the same way?

我们看问题的角度是不是一致的？

Are we looking at things from the same perspective?

你也可以问：‘我有没有理解错你的意思？’

You can also ask things like, am I hearing you right?

或者：‘我想把这一点弄清楚。’

Or I just want to get this straight.

这些说法本质上都是一个意思：我想确认自己有没有理解对。

Those all basically mean the same thing, which is I just want to check I understand things.

我们刚才聊了如何澄清别人说的话，让事情更清楚。

So we've talked about clarifying what other people are saying so that things are clear.

但你怎么才能确保自己说清楚了呢，菲尔？

But how can you make sure that what you're saying is clear, Phil?

好的。

Okay.

我们先从邮件说起吧。

Well, let's start by thinking about emails.

我觉得发邮件时，最重要的是用最简单的语言。

I think in emails, the the key thing to do is keep your language as simple as possible.

只说你真正想问的事情。

Stick to what you want to ask about.

句子尽量简短。

Keep your sentences short.

可以用主题行。

You can use subjects.

也可以加小标题。

You can use headings.

你可以使用列表。

You can use lists.

在回复别人的时候，这往往特别有用。

Sometimes it can be quite useful when you're replying to someone.

可以把对方的问题抄下来，然后在下面直接作答，这样逻辑就一目了然。

You can copy their questions in and just respond underneath them so that everything links together nicely.

多想想怎么让对方更容易理解你的意思。

Just think about how you can make it clear for the other person.

邮件的好处就在于没有固定规矩。

The great thing about email is there are no rules.

如果你觉得有帮助，可以用加粗、不同颜色之类的格式来突出重点。

So you can do things with, like, bold and different colors if you think that's gonna help things.

对。

Yeah.

还要避免太随意的表达或者含糊不清的说法。

And avoid overly informal language or vague phrases.

而在说话的时候，我觉得特别重要的是要清楚自己的角色和职责。

And then, of course, in speaking, I think it's really important to think about your role and your function.

比如，如果你是做决定的人，通常得用简单直接的方式把决定说清楚，让每个人都明白到底定了什么、该做什么、什么时候完成等等。

So if, for example, you're the person making the decision, you have to communicate that decision in a fairly simple and quite a direct way quite often, just so that it's really clear to everyone what's been decided, what has to happen, when it has to happen, etcetera.

对。

Yeah.

所以，比如讨论完之后你让别人去办件事，就可以用更直接的说法。

So for example, if you're asking someone to do a task after a discussion, you can use more direct language.

直接问：‘你能做这个吗？’

So ask, can you do this?

别问：‘你做这个行不行？’

Not, would it be okay if you did this?

这样对别人来说更清楚明了。

It's much more direct for people.

我们常觉得在工作中得委婉一点，显得有礼貌，也不冒犯人，这在讨论阶段确实挺重要的。

Often, we've said that you want to be indirect sometimes at work to appear more polite or to make sure that you're not offending anyone, and that might be really important in the discussion stage.

但其实，一旦到了做决定的时候，最重要的是清楚明白。

But actually, yeah, once it comes to a decision, the most important thing is clarity.

这是所有事情的关键。

That is the key to anything.

对。

Yeah.

另一个确保你表达清晰的方法是重复关键信息。

Another thing you can do to make sure that you're clear when you're speaking is to repeat the important information.

你可以说‘为了明确一下’，然后重复一遍，或者说‘再澄清一下’，然后换种说法重述一遍。

So just say, to be clear, and then repeat yourself, or to clarify, and then rephrase what you've said.

那如果有人让你解释清楚呢，Phil？

What about, Phil, if someone asks you to clarify?

比如说，你发了封邮件，或者在会议上说了什么，然后有人来问你。

So say you've sent an email or you've said something in a meeting, and you get a question about it.

如果是邮件，尤其是，回头看看你第一次怎么说的，想想哪里表达得不够清楚，然后换种方式再说一遍，让意思更明白或更简单。

If it's an email, particularly, look at what you said the first time around, realise what might not have been clear in how you said it, and say it in a different way so that you can make it clearer or make it simpler.

你可能需要挑出关键点。

You might need to pick out the key points.

当然，邮件里这么做很容易。

Obviously, that's easy in an email.

你可以回头看看自己写过什么。

You can look at what you've done.

但你说话的时候经常会发现，第一次说的时候，其实还在琢磨该怎么表达。

But you'll often find when you're speaking, the first time you say something, you're kind of working out how to say it.

第二次再说的时候，就能更直接了，因为你已经想清楚要说什么了。

The second time, you can be a lot more kind of direct, and you've already worked out what you want to say.

以上就是本期《职场英语》的全部内容。

That's it for this episode of Office English.

想了解更多提升商务英语的节目，请访问我们的网站：bbclearningenglish.com。

Find more programmes to improve your business English on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

下一期，我们会聊聊如何在工作中超越自己的职责范围。

Next time, we'll talk about going beyond your job description at work.

那先这样，再见。

Bye for now.

再见。

Bye.

你害怕说英语吗？

Are you scared of speaking English?

你不是一个人在面对这个问题。

You're not alone.

我是哈南。

I am Hanan.

我是乔治。

And I'm Georgie.

我们的新系列《克服演讲焦虑》将帮助你战胜说英语的恐惧。

And our new series, Beating Speaking Anxiety, helps you fight your fears of speaking English.

听听学习者和专家的分享，获取提升口语能力的实用建议。

Hear from learners and experts and get practical advice about how to improve your speaking skills.

欢迎访问我们的网站 bbclearningenglish.com，收听《克服英语表达焦虑》节目。

Find beating speaking anxiety on our website bbclearningenglish.com.