Office English: Clear communication
4/20/20269 min
If you see someone doing something wrong at work, should you get involved? Pippa and Phil talk about making suggestions to colleagues and giving advice without sounding rude.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsPippa· Host0:00
What words and phrases confuse you at work?
Becca· Soundbite0:03
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. [upbeat music] However, I am the type of person who does use these types of words and this language in my everyday.
Neil· Soundbite0:24
I guess every industry has lots of jargon, and certain things mean different things to different parts of the same industry, and it's not always clear what is actually being talked about.
Phil· Host0:35
Today, we're talking about how to ask questions and clarify things at work.
Pippa· Host0:40
Hello, and welcome to Office English from BBC Learning English. We're back to talk about the language you need in the workplace. I'm Pippa.
Phil· Host0:50
And I'm Phil. Read along with this podcast using the transcript at bbclearningenglish.com.
Pippa· Host0:57
So Phil, we heard from our BBC Learning English colleagues at the start of the program about the kind of language they find unclear. Neil finds jargon unclear, and Becca says polite language can be unclear, although she still uses it a lot at work.
Phil· Host1:13
So Pippa, what words and phrases or ways of speaking do you find unclear at work?
Pippa· Host1:21
Well, I think similar to Becca, some polite phrases can be confusing. For example, saying things like perhaps