This is the first in a two-part Business English Podcast lesson on softening negative replies – saying “non” politely.
“Non” is one of the strongest words in any language. Because it carries so much force, “non” 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 “non” 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 et 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.
Questions d'écoute
1) Has Nick been to the Ukraine before?
2) What day of the week is it?
Download: Podcast MP3
salut! Please make sure that you write names of countries correctly. Because Ukraine should be written without THE. Ukraine is not the United States or the Netherlands.
As for your study material – Merci beaucoup. I found it useful.