點樣用英文提出批評而唔會搞到火光熊熊

點樣用英文提出批評而唔會搞到火光熊熊

你正喺度睇一份簡報草稿。版面乾淨企理，主旨又好，但係第三頁就有啲怪——五種細到睇唔到嘅字體，配埋一個大到誇張嘅圓餅圖。你嘅同學或者同事問你：「你覺得點呀？」

呢一刻，好多學英文嘅人都會驚。如果你話「It's bad」（好差），聽落好刻薄；如果你話「It's fine」（OK 啦），又幫唔到手；如果你講足三分鐘都未講到問題喺邊，對方可能成段時間都喺度猜緊有咩衰嘢就嚟發生。

喺英文裏面，有用嘅批評通常有三個任務：保住關係、清楚指出問題、畀對方一個下一步點做。目的唔係要收埋批評，而係要令批評變到「聽得入耳」。

點解會覺得尷尬

批評令人覺得有風險，係因為佢同人嘅身份靠得好近。一句講緊份工嘅嘢，可能會唔小心聽落好似喺度講緊個人。

「This paragraph is confusing」（呢段好混亂）係講緊一段文字。

「You are confusing」（你好混亂）係講緊個人。

呢個分別寫喺紙上面好似好明顯，但喺真實對話入面就好容易糊埋一齊。語氣、時機、表情同埋用字，全部都有影響。好似「bad」、「wrong」、「lazy」、「weak」、「messy」呢啲又短又負面嘅字，落地嘅力度可能比你預期重好多，因為佢哋根本冇講要點樣改，淨係喺度貼標籤。

英文喺職場同學校環境通常都頗為重視直接，但「直接」唔等於「針對個人」。一句有幫助嘅直接評論，係指向件嘢本身：嗰頁簡報、封電郵、份計劃、嗰個例子、個死線。一句冇幫助嘅直接評論，係指向個人嘅品格：粗心、唔負責任、冇得救、唔認真。

最安全嘅做法好簡單：批評嗰啲對方改變得到嘅嘢。

常見陷阱

陷阱一：一開口就落判斷。 「This is bad」（呢個好差）冇提供任何有用資訊，對方惟有自己猜「bad」係咩意思。

陷阱二：攻擊對方嘅努力。 「You didn't even try」（你連試都未試過）講出嚟可能好過癮，但係會引發一場關於動機嘅爭執，而唔係改善件作品。

陷阱三：用「always」同「never」。 「You always miss details」（你成日都漏咗啲細節）會將一個問題變成一份人格紀錄。

陷阱四：用太多緩衝語掩埋重點。 「Maybe, possibly, if you don't mind, perhaps...」（或者、可能、如果你唔介意、說不定……）會令意見聽落好緊張或者唔清晰。

陷阱五：批評咗但冇下一步。 「This needs work」（呢個要再改）可能係事實，但係佢將個問題拋低咗畀對方獨自面對。

更好嘅講法

一句有用嘅意見通常跟住呢個結構：

觀察 + 影響 + 下一步。

觀察：你留意到咩。

影響：點解呢樣重要。

下一步：可以點改。

試吓呢啲：

  • "The main point is strong, but slide three has a lot of text. It may be hard to read quickly. Could we split it into two slides?"（主旨好紮實，但係第三頁文字好多，可能好難快速睇明。我哋分做兩頁好唔好？）
  • "I noticed the email does not include the deadline. The client may not know when to reply. Can we add one line with the date?"（我留意到封電郵冇寫死線，客戶可能唔知幾時要回覆。我哋加返一行寫日期好嗎？）
  • "The answer is close, but the example does not match the question. Try using an example from the first paragraph instead."（個答案已經好接近，但係個例子同問題對唔上。試吓改用第一段嗰個例子。）
  • "The tone is friendly, but this sentence may sound too casual for a professor. I would change it to 'Could you please let me know?'"（語氣好友善，但係呢句對住教授可能太隨便。我會改成「Could you please let me know?」）
  • "The plan has a good direction. The risk is that no one owns the final step yet. Let's add a name next to it."（份計劃方向好好，風險係最後一步而家仲未有人負責。我哋喺旁邊加個名落去啦。）

留意吓，呢啲講法都冇話「You are unclear」（你好唔清楚）、「You forgot again」（你又再唔記得）或者「You are careless」（你好粗心）。佢哋係點出要處理嗰部分，再畀對方一條路行落去。

錯 / 好啲 / 點解

錯 好啲 點解
"This is bad." "The idea is useful, but the opening is hard to follow. Could you start with the main result first?" 點出問題並提供修補方法，而唔係淨係落判斷。
"You didn't explain it well." "The explanation jumps from step one to step three. Adding the middle step would make it clearer." 聚焦喺解釋本身，而唔係對方嘅能力。
"You always make this mistake." "This same date issue appeared in two places, so let's check the calendar before sending it." 避免將一個重複出現嘅問題變成人身攻擊。
"Your design is messy." "There are three font sizes on this slide, which makes it feel crowded. One font size would look cleaner." 用具體證據配具體修法。
"This won't work." "I'm worried this timeline leaves no room for review. Could we add one extra day before submission?" 解釋個風險，並建議下一步。

迷你對話

A: Can you look at my introduction?

B: Sure. The topic is interesting, and I understand where you're going. The first sentence is a little broad, though. If you start with your specific question, the reader will know what to look for.

A: So move the research question up?

B: Exactly. That would make the opening sharper.

A: What do you think of this customer reply?

B: The apology is good. I would adjust the second sentence because "you misunderstood" may sound blaming. Maybe say, "I may not have explained that clearly."

A: That sounds less defensive.

B: Right, and it still fixes the misunderstanding.

A: Is the team plan okay?

B: The tasks are clear. The part I'm worried about is ownership. For example, "send final file" has no name next to it. If we assign that now, we avoid confusion later.

A: Good point. I'll put Maya there.

好用嘅句式

當你想講得清楚但又唔想太刻薄：

  • "The part I would revisit is..."（我會再睇多次嘅部分係……）
  • "One thing that may confuse readers is..."（有一樣可能會令讀者混亂嘅係……）
  • "The main issue I see is..."（我見到嘅主要問題係……）
  • "This is close. The next thing to improve is..."（呢個已經好接近喇，下一樣要改善嘅係……）
  • "I think the idea works. The wording needs a little tightening."（我覺得個構思得，措辭就要收緊少少。）

當段關係比較敏感：

  • "Can I make one suggestion?"（我可以提一個建議嗎？）
  • "Would it help if I pointed out one place to revise?"（如果我指出一個可以改嘅地方，會唔會有幫助？）
  • "I like the direction. One thing to watch is..."（我鍾意呢個方向，有一樣要留意嘅係……）
  • "This may be a small wording issue, but..."（呢個可能只係措辭上嘅小問題，不過……）

當個問題比較嚴重：

  • "We need to fix this before it goes out."（呢個要喺發出去之前搞掂。）
  • "I don't think this version is ready yet because..."（我覺得呢個版本仲未 ready，因為……）
  • "This could create a problem for the customer, so let's revise it."（呢個可能會畀客戶帶嚟麻煩，所以我哋改一改啦。）

委婉唔等於含糊。你可以做到既溫柔，又講得出真正嗰句嘢。

即時練習

將每一句刻薄嘅評論改寫，令佢聚焦喺件作品上，並畀出一個下一步。

  1. "Your email is confusing."
  2. "You did this wrong."
  3. "This slide is ugly."
  4. "You always forget the deadline."
  5. "This answer is useless."

參考答案

  1. "The email has two different requests in one paragraph, so the reader may miss the main one. Could you split them into two bullets?"
  2. "The calculation uses last month's number. If you update it with this month's number, the answer should work."
  3. "The slide feels crowded because the text and chart are competing. Try making the chart larger and moving the details to the notes."
  4. "The deadline is missing from this draft. Let's add it before we send the message."
  5. "This answer does not connect to the question yet. Start by naming the problem, then add one example."

重點回顧

  • 批評嗰啲改變得到嘅嘢，唔好批評對方嘅人格。
  • 用 觀察 + 影響 + 下一步。
  • 避免好似「bad」、「lazy」、「messy」呢啲標籤，除非你解釋埋具體問題喺邊。
  • 直接到足以有用，溫柔到足以入耳。
  • 最好嘅批評會令對方諗：「我知道要改咩喇。」

ExamRift（考試平台）嘅練習可以幫你養成呢個習慣：留意語氣、揀返較安全嗰個版本，再將句子讀出聲，直到提出有用嘅批評變成自然而然。