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Hello, everyone, and welcome to EnglishPod.

My name is Marco.

My name is Catherine, and we have an unusual lesson for you today.

It's more about writing than about speaking.

That's right.

Well, many times we have to write emails, and if we're working in a sales environment, we may need to write an email to a potential client.

All right, so we're going to learn what is appropriate and what is not in today's lesson.

Let's take a listen to our dialogue.

Melanie, can you help me with something?

We need to finalize the account with the Mexican Embassy, and I need some advice on phrasing this letter correctly in English.

Sure, Tracy.

Let me just get my laptop.

Right, all set.

Okay, so, to whom it may concern, I am writing...

Um, Tracy, I think that's a little too formal.

I know you want to be polite, but you've already made contact with them, so in English, you can be a bit more relaxed in the opening.

Okay, more relaxed.

Got it.

Hey, Sally, what's up?

It's Tracy here, just...

Okay, Tracy, now it's too relaxed.

You've still got to show some respect.

How about starting with Dear Ms. Cooper, I'm writing to confirm.

Great, okay.

Dear Ms. Cooper, I'm writing to confirm the final quotation for the full page

back cover color advertisements you requested for the spring issue of Viola magazine.

That's great.

The final costing, including advert design and production, comes to 45,600 RMB.

We want payment 10 working days before publication, or we will cancel the ad.

Thanks for...

Whoa, okay, back up a second, Tracy.

That's too direct.

Can I suggest you say, please note that the final payment is due two working weeks before publication.

You don't want to offend her.

Oops.

Okay, you're right.

Then I can just end with all the best, Tracy.

Hmm, maybe I'd play it safe and just finish with yours sincerely.

That's more professional.

Oh, Melanie, you're a lifesaver.

Thank you.

Alright, we're back.

So now let's take a look at some of that vocab we heard on language takeaway.

Language takeaway.

We have some wonderful adjectives today.

The first one that I wanted to discuss, Marco, is formal.

Formal.

That's right.

We want to be a little bit more formal when we're writing someone we don't really know too much.

That's right.

But we have to be careful because sometimes you can be too formal.

So what exactly does formal mean?

So if you write a formal email, it's very proper, very respectful.

So proper in the way that you wouldn't use colloquial terms or phrasal verbs that you would use with your friends.

No, a good example is writing to a lawyer or a judge.

You want to use formal language.

Even with a teacher, you might use more formal language.

But with a friend, you don't have to.

That's something else.

That's right.

So when you're writing something that's formal, it's important to be polite as well.

Now, what is polite?

Right.

So you want to be formal, you want to be serious, and you want to be polite.

You want to show respect.

You want to be nice, basically.

That's right.

And so people can often be described as polite.

He's very polite or she's not polite at all.

Right.

And, you know, when I was a little kid, my mom used to say, it's very important to be polite.

Always say thank you and you're welcome when you're talking to other people.

That's right and that's one way of being polite.

Now, also when we are describing the way that you speak to someone or the way that you write, you can be very direct.

Now, being direct means that you say exactly what you want or exactly what you're thinking.

Okay, so maybe if we're talking to this company, you say, Hi, I want this.

I will pay this much.

Thank you.

Bye.

Right.

That's maybe too direct.

So sometimes you need to be a little less direct and say nice things in an email.

That's right.

So maybe you want to say to someone that you don't really like the clothes they're wearing, right?

Then you say, hey, do you like my new shirt?

And if you're very direct, you would say, no, I think it's very ugly.

I hate it.

Right, that's too direct.

So maybe you would say, I don't really think it suits you very well.

Or I think a different color would be better on you.

That's right.

So that's being a little bit less direct.

Now, obviously, if you're too direct with someone, you may offend that person.

All right, to offend is a verb

and to offend someone means to say something that makes them unhappy or upset or even angry.

So going back to the same example of the shirt, if you say, I think that shirt is very ugly, that person might be offended.

Gosh, or maybe if you say, you know, I think people with brown hair are so ugly and there's someone next to me with brown hair,

they say, oh, I'm offended.

Right.

100

I'm not ugly, but I have brown hair.

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That's right.

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Okay, so you don't want to offend anyone by being too direct, or you don't want to have anyone feel offended.

103

Now, for our last phrase here on Language Takeaway, we have towards the end of the dialogue,

104

Tracy, Tracy, thanks, Melanie, by saying, you are a lifesaver.

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Thank you.

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Okay, so don't be confused.

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There is also a candy called lifesavers, and she's not calling her a candy.

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Right.

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She's saying, wow, thank you.

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You really helped me.

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Okay.

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So when someone helps you a lot, you can call them a lifesaver.

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Right.

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Marco, what exactly is the object, the lifesaver?

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If you've ever been on a boat,

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you see this big orange circle that is used to throw into the water to help someone to prevent them from drowning.

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That is called a lifesaver.

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Okay.

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So I'm drowning.

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I'm having a hard time writing this email.

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I do not know what to say.

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Marco, you come and help me.

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I can say, oh, wow, thank you so much.

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You're a lifesaver.

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That's exactly right.

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All right, so we've taken a look at five key words there.

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Why don't we take a listen to our dialogue again, and we'll be back with Fluency Builder.

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Melanie, can you help me with something?

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We need to finalize the account with the Mexican embassy, and I need some advice on phrasing this letter correctly in English.

130

Sure, Tracy.

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Let me just get my laptop.

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Right.

133

All set.

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Okay, so, to whom it may concern, I am writing...

135

Um, Tracy, I think that's a little too formal.

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I know you want to be polite, but you've already made contact with them, so in English, you can be a bit more relaxed in the opening.

137

Okay, more relaxed.

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Got it.

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Hey, Sally, what's up?

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It's Tracy here.

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Just...

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Okay, Tracy.

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Now it's too relaxed.

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You've still got to show some respect.

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How about starting with Dear Miss Cooper?

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I'm writing to confirm...

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Great, okay.

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Dear Ms. Cooper, I'm writing to confirm the final quotation for the full page

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back cover color advertisements you requested for the spring issue of Viola magazine.

150

That's great!

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The final costing, including advert design and production, comes to 45,600 RMB.

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We won't payment 10 working days before publication, or we will cancel the ad.

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Thanks for...

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Whoa, okay, back up a second, Tracy.

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That's too direct.

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Can I suggest you say, please note that the final payment is due two working weeks before publication?

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You don't want to offend her.

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Oops, okay, you're right.

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then I can just end with all the best, Tracy.

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Maybe I'd play it safe and just finish with yours sincerely.

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That's more professional.

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Oh, Melanie, you're a lifesaver.

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Thank you.

164

So today in Fluency Builder, we have a number of phrases you can use when you're writing an email.

165

Some of them are very polite and formal.

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Some of them are very informal or casual.

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Now, this first phrase, Marco, is very, very formal, right?

168

That's right.

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We start our letter by stating, to whom it may concern.

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All right.

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To whom it may concern.

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Remember that M there.

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This is a very formal phrase, and we're going to take it as a phrase.

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This is how you begin a formal letter.

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That's right.

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Usually, you start this letter if it's directed to maybe a company or someone not specific.

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You don't know that person's name, and you're just saying, you know, whoever's reading this letter, whoever it concerns.

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That's right.

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Well, I could say, Dear Marco.

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Right.

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But in this case, maybe I don't know who the name of the person I am writing this email to.

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It's a big company.

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There are many people.

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So if you don't know who you're writing to in a company or in an organization, you say, To Whom It May Concern.

185

That's right.

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Okay, now we started very formal.

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Melanie said, I think it's a little bit too formal.

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Maybe we should be more relaxed.

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So Tracy says, okay, got it.

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So how about, hey Sally, what's up?

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What's up?

192

Okay, what's up?

193

What's up is the kind of thing I say with my friends.

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You know, hey Marco, what's up?

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Right.

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But I would never say this in a formal situation with a boss or with a, you know, an employer or with a more serious situation.

197

Exactly.

198

Especially if you're writing an email to a client, you don't really want to say what's up.

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No, never.

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So remember, this is spoken English with your friends, but not something you would write.

201

So, the key here is that you have to show some respect.

202

Okay, so that's another great phrase.

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You show some respect.

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Alright, so the key here is that this is, the verb is to show, right?

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Not to give.

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You want to show respect to someone.

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Well how do you show respect?

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Well, the way that you act, your behaviors.

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So, if I'm polite and I say, you know, mister and miss and thank you and please, these are ways to show respect.

210

That's right.

211

So that's the way that you are being respectful.

212

You are showing respect by being very polite.

213

For example, in Japan, it is common to take your shoes off when you go to a friend's home, their house, in order to show respect to them.

214

That's right.

215

Very good.

216

Now, as we continue writing the letter towards the end, we wanted to play it safe and just write yours sincerely to close the letter off.

217

All right.

218

So this phrase, play it safe, what does this mean?

219

When we're talking about making a decision or taking a risk, we want to play it safe.

220

We want to use the less risky option.

221

All right.

222

So the key here is that the verb is to play.

223

Play it safe.

224

This means that, yeah, there's maybe a risky option and a safe option.

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And it's better to take the safe option.

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Play it safe.

227

That's right.

228

That's right.

229

So that's the way that you would use this phrase, to play it safe to make a decision

230

that doesn't have too much risk or that you know that will work very well.

231

And to close things off, another option to end the letter, we could say, All the best.

232

All the best, Tracy.

233

All the best, comma, Tracy.

234

All right, so this is a way to end a letter.

235

You can say, sincerely, or best, but it's a very nice way to end if you just say, All the best, and then you say, you know, after that you have a comma,

236

and then you sign your name.

237

That's right.

238

Alright, let's listen to our dialogue one last time, and we'll be back to talk a little bit more.

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Melanie, can you help me with something?

240

We need to finalize the account with the Mexican embassy, and I need some advice on phrasing this letter correctly in English.

241

Sure, Tracy.

242

Let me just get my laptop.

243

Right, all set.

244

Okay, so, to whom it may concern, I am writing...

245

Um, Tracy, I think that's a little too formal.

246

I know you want to be polite, but you've already made contact with them, so in English, you can be a bit more relaxed in the opening.

247

Okay, more relaxed.

248

Got it.

249

Hey, Sally, what's up?

250

It's Tracy here.

251

Just...

252

Okay, Tracy.

253

Now it's too relaxed.

254

You've still got to show some respect.

255

How about starting with Dear Ms. Cooper, I'm writing to confirm...

256

Great, okay.

257

Dear Ms. Cooper, I'm writing to confirm the final quotation for the full page

258

back cover color advertisements you requested for the spring issue of Viola magazine.

259

That's great.

260

The final costing, including advert design and production, comes to 45,600 RMB.

261

We won't payment 10 working days before publication, or we will cancel the ad.

262

Thanks for… Whoa, okay, back up a second, Tracy.

263

That's too direct.

264

Can I suggest you say, please note that the final payment is due two working weeks before publication.

265

You don't want to offend her.

266

Oops.

267

Okay, you're right.

268

Then I can just end with all the best, Tracy.

269

Hmm, maybe I'd play it safe and just finish with yours sincerely.

270

That's more professional.

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Oh, Melanie, you're a lifesaver.

272

Thank you.

273

So talking about ending formal emails or emails that you're writing to clients, colleagues, we can say sincerely in your name, sincerely, Marco.

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You can say all the best, best regards.

275

Now, I've noticed that some people who aren't native English speakers, sometimes they will close a letter,

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maybe even a formal letter, saying yours truly.

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Marco, for example.

278

Is that really appropriate for a business setting or a client?

279

I would not use yours truly.

280

Maybe if you're trying to build a relationship with your client and you're very honest, but it seems to me to be very personal.

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Very romantic.

282

Yes, yours truly.

283

So I would say in that case, use sincerely or kind regards,

284

which are a little bit more professional and less emotional.

285

If you want to have a romantic letter, you can say, you know, all my love or love or yours truly or yours faithfully.

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This is a very important topic, I think, because many times in school we do learn how to write letters, but usually they are more personal letters.

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And so we memorize that usually at the end of the email or the end of the letter, you say yours, Marco or yours truly, Marco.

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and although it is correct, it's not really appropriate for a professional setting.

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That's right.

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So just as a reminder, if you're signing off your email or your letter and you're at an office, you're in your company, you want to say best or best regards

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or some of the things that we talked about here today.

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Very good.

293

All right.

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So if you have any questions or any other doubts, you can always find us at EnglishPod.com and we'll see you guys there.

295

Bye.

296

Bye.

297

Thank you.

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تدريب Shadowing: Write Emails in English | Learn English Quickly with podcast | English learning Conversation - تعلم التحدث بالإنجليزية مع YouTube

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تدريب Shadowing: Write Emails in English | Learn English Quickly with podcast | English learning Conversation - تعلم التحدث بالإنجليزية مع YouTube

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