BEP 49 INT - Softening Negative Replies (Part 1)

This is the first in a two-part Business English Podcast lesson on softening negative replies - saying “no” politely.

“No” is one of the strongest words in any language. Because it carries so much force, “no” is hard to say politely. Yet giving a negative reply, disagreeing or refusing a request are all things we have to do on a daily basis. So it’s important to learn how to say “no” in a way that enables you to maintain good relationships. In many cases this requires you to take a softer and more indirect approach. So today we’ll work on ways to soften negative replies in a variety of everyday situations.

In the dialog we meet up again with Nicholas Fisher, the European sales director for Harper-Tolland from BEP 35 and 36. He is flying into Kiev to support local sales staff by meeting with a large potential customer, Avitek. This is a Ukrainian company that manufactures cargo and firefighting aircraft. In our dialog, Nick is being met at the airport by Harper-Tolland’s sales manager in the Ukraine, Oksana Ivanchuk.

Listening Questions:

1) Has Nick been to the Ukraine before?
2) What day of the week is it?

BEP 49: Study Notes.

Related Topics

• BEP 50 INT - Softening Negative Replies (Part 2)
• BEP 37 ADV - Presentations: Question and Answer (Part 2)
• BEP 36 ADV - Presentations: Question and Answer (Part 1)

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