我常常被學生問到，英文口說要怎麼樣講得更流暢、更清楚？我想跟你分享 3 個我常給學生的建議。

一、先簡答，再補充

颱風天停班日和朋友聊到 “Do you still have to work from home on a typhoon day off?” 

與其說：

“You know, sometimes I have a lot on my plate, or I am working on an important project, so I take my work home even when there isn’t a typhoon. However, sometimes I don’t have a lot of work, so I don’t need to work that much. And recently I just got a promotion, so I need to work extra hard. So today I will work from home.” 

不如說：

“I will be working from home today, but it really depends. (先簡答) When I have a lot of unfinished work, I tend to work from home, even on a typhoon day off. (接著再補充)” 

這樣會好說許多，重點明顯，聽的人也更好理解。

二、善用 I, We, You 開頭

要說「在家辦公能讓我有更多彈性」

與其說：

“Working from home lets me can work flexible.” 這樣不正確的表達

不如說：

“I get to have more flexibility when I work from home.”

一樣容易表達許多，流暢度和清晰度就更好掌握了。

三、善用慣用句頭

在對話中想分享想法時，可以善用慣用句頭來「讓對方知道你想說話」，同時「給自己一點時間思考 (Buy yourself some time)」。

我們可以說：

“What stood out to me was…” 同時思考接下來要說什麼，例如 “What stood out to me was their attention to detail.”

這邊的 “What stood out to me was…” 就是一個非常常見，表達「讓你印象深刻的事」的慣用句頭。

原文發表於：創勝文教電子報 202410 / 01 期・Oct 2