August 14, 2023

Polite requests in English

strategies for the business world

Polite requests in English are the key to getting what you want from your colleagues or clients. Let’s face it, you are much more likely to get a faster response or a positive answer when you ask nicely! Here are some strategies to ask someone for something – while keeping your tone of English professional and pleasant.

Prepare the ground

Before immediately divulging what you want, first you need to set up the question. This is common practice in the English-speaking world (and less likely to cause irritation).

 Try following this formula when making polite requests in English:

1)  Ask permission to ask a question. “Can I ask you something?”

2)  Give a reason for asking. “I’ve been searching for X document in our shared drive and I can’t seem to find it anywhere.

3)  Ask the question. “Could you remind me where it is?”

And the good news is (or isn’t) – there are even more techniques you can use to make extra polite requests in English. 

Indirect questions

Notice in the last example we didn’t simply ask “Where is the document?”. That’s because we used a linguistic strategy called “indirect questions”. This takes longer, but avoids sounding abrupt. Just follow this pattern.

 Could you remind me/tell me/let me know + where/when/why/how/who/how many/how much/how long + normal sentence.

 Could you remind me + where + it is.

 

Maybe your request only has a yes or no option. In that case, modify the pattern a little.

 

Could you remind me/tell me/let me know + if + normal sentence 

Could you tell me + if + there are any additional costs?

“Would you possibly be willing to work a little longer?”

 

Talk hypothetically

Another method to make very polite requests in English is to use very conditional language. This means using “would”, “could” and “if” a lot.

  • I would be grateful if I could leave early on Friday.
  • I would appreciate some extra resources for the project.
  • Would it be possible to arrange a meeting this afternoon?

It may seem over-the-top, but if you want to demonstrate extra politeness, this is a great tool. 

Use light, breezy words

When making polite requests in English, it’s always useful to throw in some nice softening expressions like “a little”, “a few”, “a bit”, “just”, “maybe”, “probably”, “possibly”. 

  • Could you just give me a few more details?
  • Can you maybe send that in writing?
  • Would you possibly be willing to work a little longer?

This has the effect of minimising the weight of the request. Minimising, or camouflaging… 

Use the past continuous

A common strategy when asking politely is to use the past continuous tense. Take a look at these examples:   

  • I was hoping you could be flexible with the deadline.  
  • I was wondering if you could help me later today.
  • I was thinking we could finish that on Monday.

This is another way to be more indirect, and create distance between you and your message – which is basically the secret to polite requests in English!

Don’t forget the magic word

 

Of course, these examples would be useless without remembering the basics. “Please”, “thank you”, and “when you have time” are nice additions to the end of your sentence. Essentially, whether inside or outside the workplace, never underestimate the power of language when making polite requests in English.

 

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I train people to use English in a professional context. In my one-to-one sessions, online course and social media platforms, you’ll master tools to flourish in your English-speaking workplace. From job interviews to work meetings to presentations and more, you’ll prepare for professional challenges and speak with success.

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