Nuanced Register

Informal / chat-style

Fine for close colleagues and quick messages, but may sound too casual or urgent.

Neutral / everyday professional

Clear, polite, and efficient for most workplaces.

Formal / diplomatic

Useful for external clients, sensitive situations, or hierarchy.

Useful softeners (polite but clear)

could you… · would you mind… · when you have a moment… · if possible… · just to confirm… · for your reference…

Diplomatic disagreement

I see your point; however… · That’s a fair concern. My view is… · I’m not sure that approach would… · Another way to look at this is…

Action-focused closings

Please let me know if… · If you’re happy with this, I’ll… · Could you confirm by…? · I’ll follow up on…

Subject: Updated agenda for Thursday’s meeting

Hi Dana,

I hope you’re doing well. I’m sharing the updated agenda for Thursday’s meeting for your reference. Could you please confirm whether the timeline section is still accurate on your end?

If you’re happy with it, I’ll send the final version to the group by 4 PM today.

Thanks in advance,
[Name]

Clarifying

Just to clarify… · When you say ___, do you mean ___? · Could you expand on…? · What’s the key priority here?

Disagreeing politely

I understand the rationale; however… · I’m not fully convinced that… · My concern is… · Could we consider an alternative?

Summarizing decisions

So, to summarize… · The takeaway is… · We’ve agreed to… · Next steps are… · Let’s assign owners for…

Managing interruptions

If I could just finish my point… · Let me come back to that… · Can we park that for later? · I’d like to hear ___’s view.

Practice 1: Tone diagnosis

Label each as: too blunt / too casual / too vague / good tone.

1) “Send me the report now.”
2) “Heyyy can u send the report lol”
3) “It would be great if the report could maybe be sent soon.”
4) “Could you send the report by 2 PM? Thanks.”

Practice 2: Rewrite (3 registers)

Rewrite in: (a) informal, (b) neutral, (c) formal.

“We can’t approve this because it’s missing key information.”

Practice 3: Meeting lines

Role-play a meeting. Use 6 phrases:
clarify · disagree · propose · summarize · assign · close

Choose ONE scenario

• Request a deadline extension (give reason + solution)
• Follow up on an unanswered email (polite but firm)
• Decline a proposal diplomatically (offer alternative)
• Confirm meeting outcomes + next steps

Requirements

• Clear subject line
• Polite opening + purpose
• 1 diplomatic phrase (e.g., “I see your point; however…”)
• Clear action request + deadline
• Professional closing

Suggested structure

Subject → greeting → context → request → next steps → thanks/close

Scenario

A project is behind schedule. The team must decide priorities, adjust timelines, and communicate risks. Each student has a role (manager / analyst / client / operations).

Language targets

• Clarify (2x)
• Disagree diplomatically (1x)
• Propose an alternative (1x)
• Summarize decisions (1x)
• Assign next steps (1x)

Wrap-up

One student delivers a 30–45 second meeting summary using formal-neutral register.

Peer feedback prompts

• One phrase that sounded very professional was…
• One place the tone felt too strong/too soft was…
• One clearer action request could be…

Teacher focus

• Directness vs politeness balance
• Hedging accuracy (not too vague)
• Collocations (meet a deadline / raise a concern)
• Clear meeting summarizing

Common upgrades

“I want” → “I’d like to…”
“You must” → “We’ll need to…” / “Could we…?”
“This is wrong” → “I’m concerned that…” / “It may be worth reconsidering…”