参考整理好的例句，分析言语从脑海里开始 (in one’s mind)，到讲出来 (spoken out loud)，与被听见 (heard by others) 的过程。从三个角度来看同样的想法，了解言语从一个人的脑海里到他人的耳朵里，如果一不小心用错了一个字或一个句子，不同的方式将会呈现完全不同的效应，会造成十万八千里的差距：
1. It’s not fair.这不公平。
"It’s not fair."一听就是公主病的口语与少爷的架子。大家对现在的“草莓族”已经多少有偏见，如果听到年轻人讲这种话一定会有反感，想象他在家里一定是娇生惯养，横行霸道的公主或王子，把他列为草莓族的范典。如果是年长的人抱怨不公平的话，旁边的人心里一定要笑掉大牙了。世界上不公平的事太多了，需要一份工作的人还是会继续上班，受不了的人离职以后的下一份工作也不大可能是完美的。如果真的受到不平等或者不合法的对待时，要收集有足够的证据，再具体的与主管讨论工作分配的状况与待遇，心平气和的找到解决问题的方案。
参考例句：
In one’s mind:
(O) I have been with the company longer, and my client base has brought in significant avenue consistently over the past five years. I would like to know if there is any tangible reason that made you decide not to promote me, or I will have to assume that I was overlooked because I am a single mother of three young children.
(X) It’s not fair that you promoted Frances instead of me. She has less experience than I do, has only been with the company for one year. I feel that I was overlooked because you prefer someone who has less personal obligations.
(XX) I am extremely angry because of your discriminatory decision. I deserve that promotion, and you gave it to someone who is not qualified because she is younger, and doesn’t have any children.
(O) I understand everyone is under a lot of pressure toward the end of the month. Nevertheless, we had discussed that each person must be responsible for writing his or her own invoices. If I were to help you, I will have to put my name on it, and that will cause further delays when the accounting department calculates our commissions.
(X) Your invoices are not my problem right now. I only get my commission if I fulfill my quota, and I have to worry about myself. We talked about this in the last meeting, and we have to stop mixing up our responsibilities, and there is only one name allowed on one invoice.
(XX) I can’t believe you are asking me to do your job. We talked about this in the last meeting, and the boss said it’s mandatory for each person to take accountability, and complete the required tasks. So you should learn to be more responsible, go do your job, and stop creating problems for others.
Come on! 我们不是在讨论笛卡儿的名言「我思考，所以我存在。」(I think therefore I am)。讲话的时候就代表你应该已经想好了。思想派的朋友们也不要在意，很多人都会常常把 “I think, I suppose, I speculate” 当口头禅。重点是在与同事与客户沟通时，要直接的表达你的自信心与专业性。如果你已经从自我的智慧与逻辑中达到结论，也信任自己的想法，就直接的说 “I know, I believe, I am certain”.
参考例句：
In one’s mind:
(O) I am certain that the end of November is the best time to promote the new clothing line, because Thanksgiving will be around the corner, and everyone will have some extra time and money prepared to start doing their Christmas shopping.
(X) I think the end of November is a good time to release the new clothing line. I speculate that since Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming, consumers will probably want to spend more money.
(XX) I am uncertain when is the best time to release the new clothing line. But since the holidays are coming, we will just assume Thanksgiving is a good time, because everyone will be out shopping anyway.
(O) I wish this mistake didn’t happen. Everyone, including myself, should had pay more attention, double checked the paper work, and re-confirmed with the clients. We need to figure out how to do damage control, and make sure it won’t happen again.
(X) This is a big mistake. I cannot believe you missed it. You should had double checked the paper work, showed all the samples to the client, and someone should had been at the factory when the materials were delivered.
(XX) This is a horrible and extremely unprofessional mistake that happened right under our noses. It’s all your fault that no one checked the paper work, clarified with the customers some samples look alike. And I can’t believe you were so lazy, and didn’t check if the correct material was delivered to the factory.
(O) We can’t spend more time and money on similar strategies that don’t work. It’s time to think outside the box, and stop doing market research by phone calls and email. We got to hit the streets, talking to people, be louder, and attract more attention.
(X) Maybe I am wrong on this, but we have gathered all our information through phones calls and emails. I have a new idea. Maybe it’s kind of silly, but why don’t we start doing more hands-on research, and start meeting the consumers in person.
(XX) I am aware that we haven’t been innovative with our research methods. Since we are not going anywhere with the current strategy, we might just well try something else.
我知道我们没有创新我们的研究方法。既然我们与目前的策略一点进展都没有，我们只好试试别的方法。
6. I don’t have time for this right now；I’m too busy.我现在没有时间讨论这件事；我太忙了。
(O) I am worried about the meetings this afternoon, and the important presentation tomorrow. I know you want my thoughts on your decision, but I am afraid that I cannot provide you with any constructive advice at this moment. Please come talk to me at the end of tomorrow if you still need me, and we will figure it out.
(X) I understand you want my thoughts on the issue, but can’t you see I am running around today. I don’t have time for this right now, why don’t you catch me next time.
我知道你想我的想法，但你难道没有看到我今天跑来跑去。我没有时间管这件事了，你为什么下一次再来找我。
Heard by others:
(XX) I am so busy right now, and you should stop bothering me. If you want my help, or want to know what I think, wait until I have more time on my hands. Otherwise, leave me alone.
