أغر؟´«أ½

Making recommendations

In another edition of How to... we looked at the language a manager might use to balance positive and negative comments about a piece of work. This week we move onto the topic of making recommendations for changes. How can we 'soften' our advice in order to seem less bossy?

Don't forget to practise what you've learned with the activity further down this page.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Making recommendations
You	[might] want	some stronger images.
	need
	[might] want to	change the layout.
	need to
	could
	might
[If I were you] I would
What I would do is
What you want is to
You could try		changing the layout.

Softening what you say
Be vague:
You could	look at	the layout. changing the layout.
	think about
Use hedging words like perhaps, maybe and might: You could perhaps think about changing the format. You might like to think about changing the format.
Use just to explain your recommendations: It's just that I think it needs a stronger image. It's just to give the page a bit more structure.

Vocabulary

bossy informal, negative adjective describing someone who likes telling people what to do to soften here, to make what you say easier to hear - less bossy and more friendly

---

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT?

Quiz
For each question choose the one answer that makes a polite recommendation.

Flash not working? You can download a pdf version of the quiz at the bottom of the page.