How to sound polite in English
5 Essential tips to help you speak English politely (plus scroll down for free PDF download.)
Do you ever worry about being polite when you're speaking English? Do you worry about making a good first impression? Today I'm going to give you some tips for sounding polite when you're speaking English. These tips will help you navigate any professional or social setting with confidence and ease.
Watch the video below for the full lesson and scroll down for a useful free PDF download which covers all the English language used in this lesson.
Tip one - use polite expressions.
English has many phrases that show consideration and respect for other people; please, thank you, excuse me, would you mind? Observe how people you respect are communicating in English. And then try doing the same in your conversations.
Tip two - use softeners in your English conversations.
Softeners are words or phrases that make a statement or question sound less direct or harsh. They soften the sound or the tone of what you're saying so that you sound more gentle and not quite so strong or demanding. Softeners are incredibly useful when it comes to making your communication sound respectful.
Tip three - don’t be too direct.
Being too direct can come across as being rude. Sometimes it's better to use more indirect language.
Tip four- use modal verbs to soften your requests.
Modal verbs like could, would, should and might are really useful for both softening and making your requests sound more polite and less direct.
Tip five- If in doubt, apologise!
You might have noticed that British people apologise a lot, even when it's not necessary.