We all do it sometimes. We undermine ourselves by using less-effective language, verbal tics, and other oral miscues. That means there's always room for improvement to help your messages get through effectively.
我们有时候会这样:说一些没多大用处的话,比如口头禅或口误而大大削弱了自己真正想表达的意思。这意味着你的有效传达信息能力还有待提高。
We can all also use a little reminder now and then, so here are 12 of the worst offenses
我们时不时会使用一些提示语,那么下面的这12个便是交谈中被视为最糟糕的口头禅了。
1.“No problem” (when you really mean “you’re welcome”)
1.“没关系”(当你想表达“不客气”的时候)
When you say “no problem” in response to “thank you,” you’re actually devaluing the person who offers thanks by suggesting that whatever you did for him or her was of so little value to you that it hardly required effort.
当你回应别人的“谢谢你”时使用“没关系”,实际上此时你在暗示无论你帮助他/她做了什么事情都是如此微不足道的,从而间接贬低了对你表达感谢的人。
2.“Sorry” (when you mean “excuse me”)
2.“对不起”(当你想表达“不好意思”的时候)
Everyone appreciates a sincere apology, but using “sorry” when you really mean “excuse me” (or perhaps simply “get out of my way”) undermines your professionalism--and can make you sound a little like a bully.
人们都欣赏真诚的道歉,但是当你在表达“不好意思”(或仅仅是,“请让一让”时),你说了“对不起”,实际上在削弱你的专业性,甚至让你听起来有点气势凌人。
3. “Just … ”
3.“只是……”
There’s not enough justice in this world, but when you use the word just in the wrong context, you minimize your impact. “I just want to bring up one point,” for example, telegraphs that whatever you’re about to say is of little importance.
世界上永远没有足够的公平,而当你在不恰当的情况下使用了这个词,就会降低你的影响力。比如说,“我只想提出一点”,意味着无论你说什么都是没多大用处的。
4. “Know what I mean?”
4.“你懂我意思吗?”
While it’s smart to ensure that people you’re speaking with are on the same page, it’s pretty annoying--and unprofessional--to be so unaware of your verbal tics that you keep repeating the same phrases.
尽管确保他人听懂你所表达的意思是很聪明的做法,但是有时候也会非常恼人,而且也不专业,因为你没有意识到自己一直在重复这句口头禅。
5. Syllogisms
5.推断论
We live in a time of syllogisms: “It is what it is” and “It’s all good,” for example. These are harmless phrases in the abstract, and they were probably even witty once upon a time. But if you pepper your speech with them, you undermine the sense that you’re a serious person.
我们生活在推理的时代:“它就是它”,“一切都很好”。这些言辞在书籍的摘要里无关痛痒,并且曾经一度被认为是智慧的表现。但如果你想在演讲中一直使用这些言辞,那么你就会显得不够严谨。
6. “You guys … ”
6.“你们这帮家伙……”
I admit, I fall prey to this one myself sometimes. Using “you guys” as an all-purpose substitute for the second-person plural is a bad habit that can undermine your message by making assumptions about how familiar your audience really wants to be.
笔者承认,我有时候也会犯这样的错误。使用“你们这些人”作为一种替换第二人称复数的形式绝对是一个坏习惯,它因暗示你与听众的熟悉程度,从而降低你的信息传递的有效性。
7. Apologetic (nervous) laughter
7.歉疚地笑
Unapologetic laughter is great, and often contagious. Apologetic, nervous laughter is at best undermining, and at worst, unnerving.
毫无顾忌的笑是很棒的,而且常常能感染他人。而带有道歉意味的,惶恐的笑容则最具有毁灭性了,最坏的程度就是让人紧张不安的感觉了。
8. “It’s our policy … ”
8.“这是我们的规定”
This is a filler phrase that suggests your hands are tied and you can’t help someone, when they’re truly only tied by your own choices.
这是一个表示你爱莫能助的托词,而真正束缚你帮助他人的原因在于你自己的选择。
9. “In my opinion … ”
9.“依我看来……”
If you’re going to assert something, in most cases you come across as more professional if you simply assert it--not undermine your own point by saying it’s only your opinion. (We know it’s your opinion; convince us of it.)
如果你想表达某些事情,那么你只需把它说出来就已经能显示你的专业了,而不是加上一句“这只是我的个人观点”从而削弱了话语的影响力。(因为我们都知道是你的观点,那就说服我们吧。)
10. “Like … ”
10.“比如……”
There’s a lot to like about like, but there’s little to like about its use as an all-purpose filler.
有太多“比如……”的举例了,但并不是完全通用的。
11. “Um … ”
11.“恩……”
Only the smoothest, most-rehearsed talkers are able to overcome the fact that the intelligent human brain thinks much faster than we’re able to express those thoughts; that’s part of why we all rely on verbal crutches like “um” and “uh.” That said, overusing these is highly distracting and undermines your credibility.
只有表达最流畅,排练最多的演说者才能克服智慧头脑的思考比说话快的问题,那就是我们会依赖一些口头语气词“恩”或“额”的原因了。但是,过度使用这些语气词将会分散听众的注意力以及削弱你的有效性。
12. Cursing
咒骂
Well-timed strategic profanity can be effective. Lazy cursing is distracting in many cases, and can be totally undermining depending on your audience.
适时说些脏话也会挺奏效的。但是过多的咒骂在大多数情况下,取决于你的听众就会大大降低它的有效性。
(来源:沪江英语)