Diplomatic Tone for Better Business Communication. Tip #5 Minimizers
When you encounter a problem in business, you generally want to tone down its severity (seriousness) and avoid causing unnecessary alarm while you are working to find a solution. Using minimizers, or words that have a minimizing effect like “slight,” “small,” “a few” and “a little,” can make a problem seem smaller and less severe.
Remember you are not taking the situation lightly or misinforming anyone. All you are doing is softening your tone so that the problem sounds less alarming (shocking).
Rather than: There has been a delay in our shipment. It may take weeks to arrive.- Произошла задержка с нашей поставкой. Она может занять недели.
Say: There has been a slight delay in our shipment. It may take a bit longer to arrive.- Произошла небольшая задержка с нашей поставкой. Она может занять немного больше времени.
As you know, there is more than one way to say or write something. What is important is to make your tone as courteous and diplomatic as you can.
