I don't want to sound rude, but...

Hi there,

Eccoci qua con la nuova edizione di The English Breakfast—la rubrica settimanale di consigli e trucchi di Business English pensata appositamente per i professionisti italiani.

“I don’t want to sound rude, but…”

Ti suona familiare? Se lavori in inglese, soprattutto in contesti internazionali, ti sarà sicuramente capitato di chiederti come formulare una richiesta senza sembrare troppo diretto… o troppo vago.

In questa edizione, vediamo insieme 10 frasi utilissime che trovano il giusto equilibrio: polite but effective. Che tu stia gestendo un team, rispondendo a un cliente, o (come Giulia, la nostra nuova stagista 👇) affrontando la prima settimana di lavoro, queste espressioni ti aiuteranno a ottenere risultati senza il rischio di sembrare scortese.

Iniziamo!

Trova le frasi nel dialogo sotto. Conosci già il significato di tutt’e 10?

Amina: Hey Giulia, welcome aboard! Settling in okay?

Giulia: Thanks! I think so… though Outlook and Teams are a bit of a jungle.

Amina: Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it. Actually, I’m reaching out to a few people today about next week’s event—could you please check if the client list is updated in the shared folder?

Giulia: Sure! Where’s the folder again?

Amina: It’s on SharePoint. Do you happen to know how to access it?

Giulia: Uhh… no. Would you mind showing me?

Amina: You got it. I’ll forward you the link. Also, whenever you get a chance, could you review last year’s event summary? It'll help you get the context.

Giulia: Okay, added to my list.

Amina: It would be great if you could look at it before our team check-in tomorrow.

Giulia: Got it. Anything else?

Amina: Oh—just a quick reminder to fill out your IT onboarding form. It’s still showing as incomplete.

Giulia: Yikes, sorry—I’ll do that now.

Amina: No worries! Also, I noticed you hadn’t replied to Carla’s email about the event timeline. I just wanted to follow up on that—she’s waiting on your availability.

Giulia: Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll reply right after this. Let me know if that works for you.

Amina: Perfect. Oh, and would you mind proofreading the agenda draft once it’s ready? I know it’s a bit of extra work.

Giulia: Sure, happy to help.

Amina: Amazing—thanks in advance for your help, Giulia.

Let’s continue in English 😎 

Did you notice all the phrases in bold? Here’s a rundown of how and when you might use them.

1. “Could you please…?”
   Classic and safe. Slightly more formal than “Can you…?”

2. “Would you mind…(+ verbing)?”
   Very polite way to ask someone to do something—often used for tasks that require a bit of effort. Don’t forget that it’s always followed by a verb in the -ing form

3. “I just wanted to follow up on…”
   A polite way to chase something without sounding impatient.

4. “I’m reaching out to…”
   Useful for starting an email or message with a clear purpose.

5. “Whenever you get a chance…”
   Sounds gentle, but still implies the task should be done.

6. “It would be great if you could…”
   A positive, non-pushy way to request something.

7. “Do you happen to know…?”
   Sounds more natural and polite than a direct “Do you know…?”

8. “Let me know if that works for you.”
   Adds flexibility while still moving a plan forward.

9. “Just a quick reminder…”
   Friendly and non-accusatory. Good for deadlines or missed replies.

10. “Thanks in advance for…”
    Polite way to assume the person will complete the request—works well in emails.

Challenge 🏆️ Let’s put your skills to the test. Reorder the phrases in the quiz below and see if you can get them all correct.

Let’s chat 😀 

Choose one of the discussion points below and reply to this email with your answer. I can’t wait to hear from you!

1. Have you ever given feedback to a colleague or team member? How did it go?

2. Can you remember a time when someone gave you great feedback? What made it so effective?

3. Do you feel comfortable handling requests in the office? Do you worry about sounding too direct, or even not direct enough?

Non sei soddisfatto del tuo livello di inglese? Vuoi sentirti più confident quando devi parlare inglese al lavoro?

Clicca sul link qui sotto per vedere i corsi che offro. Sono privati e su misura per te.

Oppure rispondi a questa email con la parola per parlare dei tuoi obiettivi e per vedere se posso aiutarti a raggiungerli—senza alcun impegno, naturalmente.

Cos’aspetti? Get in touch now! 😀 

All right, that’s it for today’s edition. What did you think? Reply to this email and let me know 📧 

“😍 Loved it”

“🙂 It was OK”

“😐️ There was nothing for me“

Ciao for now,

Dan

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