Linguistic deficiencies can cause non-native English speakers to come off as rude or offensive. In this game, students practice being tactful and polite. The cards below describe delicate situations that might arise in the workplace. Students take turns choosing cards and saying what they would say to handle the situation.
For more lessons related to being polite and tactful in the workplace, please see:
| Situation: You’re walking in the hallway and a coworker stops and starts a conversation with you. You have to take care of an urgent issue and don’t have time to stop and chat. What would you say to your coworker? |
Situation: You own your own business and one of your clients has just paid you. You just received the check and realized that you were paid $1,500 instead of the $2,000 that you had agreed on. What would you say to the client? |
Situation: You are about to leave for your lunch break when one of your coworkers stops you. He wants to know if you can review some financial documents with him before you leave for lunch. You’re really hungry and need a break. How would you tell him that his request will have to wait? |
| Situation: You are a manager and one of your employees struggles with English. You’d like him to enroll in an English class. What would you say to this employee? |
Situation: You’ve been invited to go out with some coworkers on Friday night after work. You really don’t want to go. What would you say to decline the invitation? |
Situation: You are a manager and one of your employees has just asked to take next Friday off. Unfortunately, some important clients are going to be visiting the office that day and you feel that everyone in the department should be in the office. How would you tell this employee that she needs to be in the office next Friday? |
| Situation: Your supervisor wants to change the daily meeting from 8:30 AM to 7:30 AM. You think this is entirely too early. What would you say to your manager? |
Situation: Your supervisor offers you overtime this weekend to finish a particularly demanding project. You have plans for the weekend and would rather not work the extra hours. What would you say to your manager? |
Situation: You’re working on something that requires a lot of concentration, but some of your coworkers are laughing and making a lot of noise. How would you tell your coworkers to keep it down? |
| Situation: One of your coworkers has sent you a draft of an email. He wants to know what you think of the email. There are numerous mistakes and it needs to be revised. How would you politely explain this to your coworker? |
Situation: You work as a software developer. A coworker approaches you with a business opportunity. She wants you to design an app with her and split the profits. You aren’t interested in the opportunity. How would you tell her you aren’t interested? |
Situation: You’re working on a project with a coworker. You need a document that he was supposed to be finished with yesterday. You want to tell him that there is a real sense of urgency and that you need the document as soon as possible. What would you say to him? |
| Situation: You promised one of your clients that you would have something finished by the end of the week. Now it looks like you’ll need an additional day or two to finish. What would you say to the client? |
Situation: Your company policy states that all employees must request vacation time two weeks in advance. However, you have a personal issue that you need to take care of tomorrow. How would you ask your supervisor if you can take a vacation day on short notice? |
Situation: One of your coworkers volunteers for a local charity. He asks you if you’d like to make a donation. You aren’t interested in contributing to the charity. What would you say to your coworker? |