Let’s start with some news that your boss or clients probably won’t want to hear:
讓我們從一些你老板或客戶(hù)可能不愿聽(tīng)到的消息開(kāi)始今天的話(huà)題：

There will be a delay in the completion of the project.
該項(xiàng)目的竣工將推遲。

The speaker has made no attempt here to soften the negative content of the message. A more diplomatic and polite version might look something like this:
發(fā)言人并沒(méi)有試圖緩和消息的負(fù)面語(yǔ)氣。一個(gè)更適合外交和更禮貌的版本可能如下：

There might be a slight delay in the completion of the project.
項(xiàng)目的完成可能會(huì)有一點(diǎn)延遲。

We have added just two words to the sentence, but we have made it considerably more diplomatic. First, we have added the modal verb ‘might’, a technique we discussed in our previous post, and second, the qualifier ‘slight’.
我們?cè)谶@句話(huà)中只加了兩個(gè)字，但我們已使它更加委婉化了。首先，我們添加了情態(tài)動(dòng)詞“might可能”，這是我們?cè)谏弦黄恼轮杏懻撨^(guò)的一種技巧，第二種是添加限定詞“slight稍微”。

1. Qualifiers
1.限定修飾語(yǔ)

Qualifiers are words used to modify other words and they increase or decrease the quality signified by those words. Here’s a simple example:
限定詞是用來(lái)修飾其他詞語(yǔ)的詞，它們?cè)黾踊驕p少了這些詞所指的實(shí)質(zhì)內(nèi)容。下面是一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的例子：

It is very hot.
天氣非常熱。

Here the qualifier ‘very’ modifies the word ‘hot’ and increases its quality. If we use qualifiers to decrease the quality of a word, they make great ‘softeners’, words used to soften the tone of our content or convey politeness when we speak. Other examples of qualifiers that can make great softeners are:
這里的限定語(yǔ)“非?！毙揎梿卧~“熱”并增強(qiáng)其語(yǔ)氣。當(dāng)我們?cè)谡f(shuō)話(huà)交流時(shí)，如果我們使用限定語(yǔ)來(lái)增加一個(gè)詞的語(yǔ)氣，使它聽(tīng)起來(lái)更“溫柔”，這些詞就可以使得說(shuō)話(huà)語(yǔ)氣更加委婉，或者增強(qiáng)禮貌感。其他使得交流更委婉的詞語(yǔ)還有：

a little, a bit, a little bit, slight, slightly, small, one or two.
一點(diǎn)兒，一點(diǎn)，一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)，稍微，輕微地，小，一兩個(gè)。

Consider using these alternative structures when giving your boss or your clients some bad news:
當(dāng)告知老板或客戶(hù)一些壞消息時(shí)，記得使用這些替代結(jié)構(gòu)：

We are having problems with the new product.
我們的新產(chǎn)品出了一些問(wèn)題。

We are having one or two problems with the new product.
我們的新產(chǎn)品稍微有一兩個(gè)問(wèn)題。

We will run over budget.
我們的預(yù)算即將超支啦。

We might run slightly over budget.
我們可能略微超出預(yù)算。

The marketing campaign is behind schedule.
營(yíng)銷(xiāo)活動(dòng)比計(jì)劃推遲了。

The marketing campaign is a little bit behind schedule.
營(yíng)銷(xiāo)活動(dòng)稍微比計(jì)劃推遲了一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)。

2. Negative Question Forms
2.否定疑問(wèn)句的形式

Another way we can make our English more diplomatic is by using negative questions when we want to make a suggestion. Consider this sentence:
另一種使我們的英語(yǔ)更具交流性的方法是在我們提出建議時(shí)，使用否定疑問(wèn)句。思考一下這句話(huà)：

We should redesign the company logo!
我們應(yīng)該重新設(shè)計(jì)公司的標(biāo)志！

This sounds quite forceful and direct and you’d probably want to avoid this when speaking to a superior or a client. A more indirect version looks like this:
這聽(tīng)起來(lái)相當(dāng)強(qiáng)勢(shì)和直白，當(dāng)你向上級(jí)或客戶(hù)交談，可能想避免這種情況時(shí)，更間接的版本是這樣的：

Shouldn’t we redesign the company logo?
我們不應(yīng)該重新設(shè)計(jì)公司的標(biāo)志嗎？

Here we have taken a forceful sounding statement and turned it into an indirect suggestion by adding ‘not’ and changing the syntax to make it into a negative question. Typically, we use shouldn’t, wouldn’t and couldn’t to form this type of question.
在這里，我們把它變成一個(gè)間接的建議，加上“no”和改變語(yǔ)法結(jié)構(gòu)，使之成為一個(gè)否定疑問(wèn)句。通常，我們使用shouldn’t、wouldn’t 和 couldn’t來(lái)形成這種類(lèi)型的問(wèn)題。

We must hire a new advertising agency.
我們必須雇一個(gè)新的廣告代理商。

Couldn’t we hire a new advertising agency?
我們不可以雇一個(gè)新的廣告代理商嗎？

Wouldn’t it be better to hire a new advertising agency?
雇傭一個(gè)新的廣告代理商不是更好嗎？

3. Using the Past Continuous Tense
3.使用過(guò)去進(jìn)行時(shí)

Another way to make a sentence less direct and more diplomatic is to use the past continuous tense:
另一種使句子不那么直接和更圓滑的方法是使用過(guò)去進(jìn)行時(shí)態(tài)：

I hope we can sign the contract today.
我希望我們今天能簽合同。

I was hoping that we could sign the contract today.
我原本以為我們今天可以簽合同。

Using the past continuous makes the sentence sound more hypothetical and tentative, and therefore less direct and is a great technique for injecting diplomacy and politeness into your English. Here are a few more examples:
用過(guò)去進(jìn)行時(shí)使句子聽(tīng)起來(lái)更具假設(shè)性和試探性，因此不那么直白，這是在英語(yǔ)中增添交際性和禮貌性的一種很好的技巧。這里還有幾個(gè)例子：

I think we need to hire more employees.
我認(rèn)為我們需要雇傭更多的員工。

I was thinking we need to hire more employees.
我原本想我們需要雇傭更多的員工。

I aim to finish this project by the end of the month.
我計(jì)劃在這個(gè)月底之前完成這個(gè)項(xiàng)目。

I was aiming to finish this project by the end of the month.
我原本打算在這個(gè)月底前完成這個(gè)項(xiàng)目。

4. The Passive Voice
4.被動(dòng)語(yǔ)態(tài)

Finally, the passive voice is a great way to make your sentences sound more diplomatic:
最后，被動(dòng)語(yǔ)態(tài)是使你的句子聽(tīng)起來(lái)更具有交際性的一個(gè)好方法：

You have broken my computer!
你把我的電腦弄壞了！

This active voice sentence is brutally direct and if your aim is to avoid confrontation then you might consider using the passive voice to lessen the emotional impact of the sentence:
這個(gè)主動(dòng)語(yǔ)態(tài)的句子是草率而直白的，如果你的目標(biāo)是避免沖突，那么你可以考慮使用被動(dòng)語(yǔ)態(tài)來(lái)削弱句子的強(qiáng)烈語(yǔ)氣：

My computer has been broken!
我的電腦壞了！

Here we are removing the subject (you) from the sentence completely and focusing on the object (the computer) and the action. The effect here is to de-emphasize personal responsibility for the action. Let’s have a look at a few more examples of diplomatic sentences using the passive voice:
在這里，我們將從句子中完全去掉主語(yǔ)（你），把注意力放在對(duì)象（計(jì)算機(jī)）和動(dòng)作上。這里的效果是不再?gòu)?qiáng)調(diào)個(gè)人對(duì)行為的責(zé)任。讓我們?cè)倏磶讉€(gè)用被動(dòng)語(yǔ)態(tài)作交際用語(yǔ)的例子：

You said you were going to sign the deal today.
你說(shuō)你今天要簽這筆交易。

It was understood that you were going to sign the deal today.
聽(tīng)說(shuō)你今天要簽這筆交易了。

You agreed to lower your fees.
你同意降低你的收費(fèi)。

It was agreed that you were going to lower your fees.
你贊同降低你的費(fèi)用。