Diplomatic Tone for Better Business Communication. Tip #3 Choice of Words
Your
choice of words is very important in communication, especially in writing. To
be diplomatic, you need to choose your words carefully.
Very strong words, or words with negative
connotations (implied meanings) may sound impolite and undiplomatic or make a
situation appear worse than it really is. It would be best to avoid using words
like “failure,” “trouble,” “mess” and “lazy” if possible. Replacing overly strong words with more positive
words will soften the effect of your message and make even the biggest problems
seem smaller and less severe.
Rather than: Last
year’s project was a failure.- Прошлогодний
проект провалился.
year’s project was not a success.- Прошлогодний
проект не был удачным.
be sure to consider the effect your message may have on the receiver. It would
help to explain why you think it is a mistake or problem.
software is useless. I want it fixed as soon as possible.- Это программное обеспечение бесполезно. Я хочу,
чтобы оно было исправлено как можно скорее.
software is not working properly. I
know you’re very busy and may not have tested it fully. I hope you can find the time to fix it as
soon as possible. – Это программное обеспечение работает неправильно. Я знаю, что вы очень заняты и, возможно, не
тестировали его полностью. Надеюсь, вы сможете найти время, чтобы исправить его
как можно скорее.
