【外贸知识】外国客户最讨厌的单词,千万别用在邮件里!!!
2015年时,《纽约时报》刊登了最令人讨厌的英语,由美国权威大学LSSU大学公布,其中包含so,conversation,problematic,stakeholder,price point等。
此外,还有一批单词及短语“光荣上榜”
(Wheelhouse、In the books、Wrap my head around、Platform、Collusion、OTUS family of acronyms such as POTUS FLOTUS SCOTUS、Ghosting、Yeet、Litigate、Grapple、Eschew、Crusty、optics、Legally drunk 、Thought leader、Imoprtantly、Accoutrements、Most important election of our time。)
说几个词来看看老外如何评价:
词:Importantly
来自德克萨斯州的Constance吐槽:当要表示“足够重要”时,这个词就完全没有必要了,而more importantly虽然听起来的意思是更重要,但对事情本身也是毫无意义的。
词:Platform
来自加利福尼亚的Michael吐槽:人们常喜欢用这个词作为狂欢的借口,Facebook,Instagram,Twitter都已经成为了平台,甚至于运动员讲赛后访谈也称为“platform”,这已经完全脱离这个词的本意了。
另外,在LUSS的号召下,推特网友们也纷纷给出了自己最讨厌的词汇,比如bae(baby的一种写法), 动不动就用literally(字面上来说), whatever(……之类的), selfie(自拍),Trump等等。
那么,除了被广泛评出来的这些单词和短语之外,在做外贸的时候,客户有没有特别讨厌的单词或者短语呢?答案是当然有。
让老外客户讨厌的词语其实有很多,比如:learnings、solutiion、resources、dovetail、teach、networking、best practice、synergies、engage、transparency...
以下挑几个比较常见的案例:
词:Best Practice
例:we can make a best practice.
吐槽:
来自德国的买家说best practice这个词一听就让人感觉很绝对,似乎不会有任何改动了。这会让我失去继续参与的兴趣。
替换:
We can make it in a more effective way. /
We will have a better method.
词:Teach
例:Over the next hour, I will teach you...
吐槽:
来自纽约的朋友说,用teach这个词会立刻让人联想到这样的画面:一个小学老师站在讲台上喋喋不休地说着一堆大部分人不感兴趣的事。那真的太不适合商务沟通了。
替换:
Over the next hour, I will share... /
Over the next hour, I will show you...
词:Learn
例:During this session, you will learn...
吐槽:
“学习”是一件需要花时间和精力的事情,而对于做生意的人来讲,这两样都是极缺的,大家的时间都很宝贵。
替换:
During this session, you'll discover...
以上只是例子,下面看看详细的黑名单
take offline ✖
→ discuss at another time / chat tomorrow ✔
下次再说
deliverables ✖
→ refer to the things at that are being delivered–the reports, creative assets, presentation ✔
可交付的
synergy ✖
→ cooperation ✔
协作
low-hanging fruit ✖
→ great opportunity for growth ✔
轻松获得成果
think outside the box ✖
→ think creatively / approach in a new way ✔
创造性想法
in the loop ✖
→ keep someone aware / informed / up to date ✔
保持联系
manage expectations ✖
→ be realistic ✔
面对现实
soft skills ✖
→ Be specific about exactly which attributes are valuable in the context of the workplace. ✔
软性技能
case study ✖
→ success story of ✔
案例
at the end of the day ✖
→ ultimately / finally ✔
最终
best of breed ✖
→ specialists / experienced professionals / accomplished ✔
专业的
buy-in ✖
→ agreement / commitment ✔
协议,承诺
circumvent ✖
→ avoid / overcome ✔
避免
core competency ✖
→ specialize in / distinguished ✔
核心竞争力
cutting edge ✖
→ leading / progressive ✔
先进的
facilitate ✖
→ help / ease / make possible ✔
帮助
get on the same page ✖
→ agree / support ✔
达成共识
going forward ✖
→ continue...in the future ✔
展望未来
innovative ✖
→ new / distinctive ✔
新颖的
push the envelope ✖
→ try something new ✔
尝试新的
value-added ✖
→ beneficial / additional service ✔
增值的
pissed off ✖
→ a little bit angry ✔
生气
dovetail ✖
→ match ✔
吻合
giving 110% ✖
→ provide additional ✔
提供额外的
out of pocket ✖
→ may have a loss ✔
造成损失
drink the kool-aid ✖
→ make more efforts ✔
加大力度
以上这些单词或短语虽然有些在我们看来很常见,但客户听到后内心其实是崩溃的。
由于文化差异,让客户“崩溃”的词语还有很多,不妨积累下来,或者以玩笑的方式询问客户,这样不仅能拉近与对方的距离感,还能让对方感觉到你的细心与贴心。
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