Business Language To Go
Part 9 - Difficult work situations and
asking for a pay rise
This programme was first broadcast in 2001
This is not an accurate word-for-word transcript of the programme
Carmela: Now you’re too busy to worry about reading English grammar books and
dictionaries. You want short cuts to quick, fluent and natural-sounding English
for any situation at work. And that’s what Business Language To Go is all
about. Now, one quick suggestion is that you get a pen and paper ready so that
you can write down the phrases you hear.
This week we have two very different and difficult situations at work. In a
moment we’ll look at some phrases you can use for asking for a pay rise. But
first, here’s some of the language to use when you need to have words with a
member of staff. You know the kind of thing - when you need to complain
about their standard of work. Or perhaps they’ve been behaving badly towards
colleagues, or even worse, customers. Now, as usual here with me in the studio
is David Evans, our business English expert. David, what’s your advice for a
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difficult situation like this?
David: Well, I don’t think anyone enjoys this kind of situation. It’s very difficult for a
manager to tell off another adult. To tell them that their work is not up to the
standard or to complain about the way they’ve been behaving. I suppose the
key thing for managers to bear in mind here is that they need to get the balance
right - they need to be strict - but at the same time they must be fair to the other
person and obviously listen to what they have to say in their own defence. And
going alongside that, both parties need to choose the correct register of
language as well, because this is a very sensitive situation.
Carmela: So, today we’re looking at some of the language you need for difficult
situations and also we’re going to have a look at how you should say it, how
you should deliver that difficult message perhaps to a colleague.
OK - let’s get into the office now and hear our first example:
CLIP
Sean: Michelle, can I have a word please, in my office?
Now then. I won’t take long about this, I’ll come straight to the point. We
had a chat about two weeks ago, yeh? Remember that?
Michelle: Yeah
Sean: ….at that point, I wasn’t particularly happy with the way that you were
behaving in the office, the way that you were being uncooperative, a little bit
surly with people. And since then frankly, I’ve seen very little change.
Michelle: Well, I mean I think I’ve made an effort trying to be helpful like I normally am
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with people and I feel that I’m still doing my job, not that the job’s very
interesting. I think it’s become less interesting since Sarah got the promotion（推广）. I
think she’s getting some more of the interesting work.
Sean: Okay well I’m afraid that despite what you say it hasn’t come across.
I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but you have taken quite a bit of
time off … and ….
Michelle: Yeah, but you’re allowed to take leave, aren’t you?
Sean: You are allowed to take leave. And, hopefully you come back from leave
refreshed and you leave your problems at home.
END OF CLIP
Carmela: Well, quite a difficult conversation for both parties there. But David, if we can
look now at some of the language, what phrases did Sean use to tell Michelle
what he thought of her work?
David: Well, he began the conversation in quite a neutral way with the phrase Can I
have a word. If somebody says that to you, you don’t know if it’s going to be
good news or bad news but you know it’s going to be a private conversation.
Then when they get into the office, Sean indicates that he wants to talk about
business immediately - by using the phrase -
I’ll come straight to the point.
Carmela: So, those phrases are really preparation and the point that he wants to come to
is - what - how did he deliver the point?
David: I think the phrase he used, I think, was
I wasn’t particularly happy with the way you’ve been behaving. It’s quite a
good phrase to introduce some kind of complaint that one - I wasn’t happy
with. I wasn’t happy with your efforts, I’m not happy with your sales
figures - it can be used in a lot of different contexts. I think that we heard that
Sean, the manager, was very careful with the way that he chose language. We
also heard the phrase I don’t want to jump to any conclusions and he’s using
that phrase to make it absolutely clear that he wants to be fair, and that he is not
prejudging the situation.
Carmela: Well, let’s get back to that conversation. It’s been quite difficult so far. How
does it continue and how do they resolve the difficulties?
CLIP
Sean: Okay well I’m not going to get into a discussion about who deserved to get
the job. Clearly, the person who was appointed was the right person for the
job. What you need to do is look at your work and what you’re doing and
where that’s taking you in your career. But bearing in mind that you are still
employed to do a job and I expect you to do that job with a certain attitude.
You’re meeting members of the public quite regularly - it’s important that you
aren’t unhappy or at least that you don’t show it. This meeting is really just
to let you know I’m not happy with the effort that you’ve made.
Michelle: OK…
Sean: … and I really want to see some improvement. I know it’s difficult, I know
that it’s depressing not to get a job, but you’ve got to snap out of it, you’ve got
to get on with the job that you’re doing now.
END OF CLIP
Carmela: Sean, the boss in this situation sounds quite strict and stern - but we have to
remember it is the second warning, it’s the second time that he’s spoken to this
colleague about the problems, and he establishes very quickly that he doesn’t
want to dialogue. He simply wants to outline the problems, and try and get
some kind of solution. How does he alert her to that?
David: I think he does that by using the expression I’m not going to get into a
discussion about the promotion, about the job that she applied for that she
didn’t get. So, that’s a very useful way of keeping the conversation strictly to
its point. He is strict but he does use some softeners, we hear him say I know
it’s difficult, indicating that he does understand the situation that she’s in, but
he makes it very clear that what he wants is to see an improvement. He wants
things to get better, and we hear him use that phrase I really want to see some
improvement just to underline that that’s what he hopes will happen.
Carmela: Now we’re going to look at another tricky situation at work. How do you ask
for that pay rise? Have a listen to the following conversation and concentrate on
the phrases used by the person asking for the pay rise. And as you listen try and
answer these two questions. First, how long has the employee been at the
company? And secondly, how much more money does she ask for?
CLIP
Abigail: Hi, are you free for a quick chat?
M: Sure, come in, come in. Sit down. What can I do for you?
Abigail: OK. Well it’s a bit difficult, but ... I really feel that it’s about time that I
had a pay rise.
M: Okay. Why do you feel like that?
Abigail: Well, I’ve been here now for 3 years and in that time I’ve made good
progress. I’ve really feel that I’ve grown in the job and I’ve taken on a
lot more responsibility and I just feel
it’s time that that it was recognised and my efforts were rewarded（奖励）.
M: Right. So you feel that you’re on a low salary for your current position
and current responsibilities, do you?
Abigail: l yes, I do believe that what I’ve contributed to the department over recent
months means I should be paid more.
M: Okay, well, what kind of rise would you be looking for?
Abigail: Well, you know, I think that 3% on top of the usual annual rise with
inflation isn’t too much to ask.
END OF CLIP
Carmela: We’ll check the answers to those questions right now. The first one: How long
had she been at the company? – well, she’d been there for 3 years. And how
much money did she ask for? The answer was 3% on top of the usual annual
rise. David, what phrases did Abigail use there to put forward her case for a
pay rise?
David: She’s obviously aware that this is something which is quite hard to ask for, so
she begins by saying it’s a bit difficult but.. It’s a bit difficult but, I really
feel it’s about time I had a pay rise. And she’s using that expression, I really
feel - to underline that this is something that is very important to her.
Carmela: And the next step - for Abigail was to say why she thought she deserved the pay
rise, what exactly she’d done to deserve it. How did she introduce her good
points?
David: Well, I think her key point here is that she has taken on more responsibility.
That’s the phrase she uses - and I guess what she means by that is that she now
has a more important job, she has more difficult, more challenging tasks to
perform.
Carmela: And when she mentioned how much she wanted for a pay rise, she used a neat
little phrase there, she said, it isn’t too much to ask - what did she mean by
that?
David: I think, what she’s trying to say is that “I’m not asking for very much money”…
it isn’t too much to ask. I think she was asking for 3 percent more than she
would normally have got.
Carmela: Well, let’s go back to the conversation now and see how the discussion ends.
CLIP
M: Three per cent. Right, well as you know, I can’t just give you a pay rise
immediately, just like that. I’ll have to discuss it with the other managers here.
And as you can imagine, there aren’t unlimited funds available for things like
this. But you might be pleased to hear that we are having a pay review meeting
very soon and I’ll make sure we discuss your request then.
Abigail: Okay fine. Should I put this request in writing as well, so we all have a
record of this discussion?
M: Yes, that’d be a good idea. Email me and also copy it to human resources.
END OF CLIP
Carmela: Well, it sounds as if everything is going quite well there at the end. David, one
last phrase from that section - the part where Abigail wanted to have a record of
the discussion.
David: That’s right - she said - should I put this request in writing? To put
something in writing would simply mean just to have a written record of it.
Carmela: Well, that’s almost it for this week. I hope we’ve helped you prepare a bit
better for those difficult work situations. Thanks to David Evans and do join us
again next time for more Business Language To Go.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）
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