催进度的艺术：一集拿走 59 个地道职场表达

邮件发出去三天，对方毫无音讯——这大概是职场里最磨人的小事。这一集 Phil 和 Pippa 把「催人」拆成了一套完整的话术阶梯：第一封邮件怎么客气地开口（just wondering），二次跟进怎么加压不破脸（I wanted to remind you about），最终通牒怎么说得清楚又不伤人。59 个关键表达全部来自对话原文，按催办全流程分好组；跟着走一遍，下次催进度心里就有底了。

精选深讲

1. chase people up · 催办、跟进 —— 本集题眼。英式职场高频短语，up 在这里起「补足、落实」的语气作用，不是「向上追」。它专指「对方没回音，你再去提醒一次、要个结果」，比 remind 生动、比 urge 日常，可催人也可催事：chase somebody up / chase up an invoice。BBC 同事开场就说得实在：“So when I have to chase people up at work I don’t mind because generally it’s just something they’ve forgotten about or they’ve missed the email.”（工作中催人我并不介意，通常对方只是忘了、或者没看到邮件。）两个易错点：别把 up 丢了——单独说 chase people 会被理解成字面的「追着人跑」；也别与 chase after（追求某人）混淆。对上级或客户首次催办，先加一句 Sorry to chase you up 缓冲更得体。

2. have you had a chance to · 有没有机会…… —— 第一次催办的黄金句式。字面问「有没有机会」，实际是「做了没」。妙处在于它默认对方很忙、只是还没顾上，把催促包装成体谅——Phil 点破：“in that way you’re I guess showing more respect to the person that you’re emailing.”（这样其实是对收件人表达更多尊重。）用法：to 后接动词原形，have you had a chance to… look at the report 就是标准示范。注意别换成 did you have——现在完成时才带「到目前为止」的从容，一般过去时听上去像在查岗。

3. I wanted to remind you about · 我想提醒你…… —— 第二次催办的起手式。Pippa 的拆解很到位：从问句换成陈述句，语气立刻 firm（坚定）起来；但 wanted 用过去式，又给语气「降了半度」——Phil 说它让句子 “a bit more distant”（更疏缓一点）。这是英式职场「加压但不破脸」的典型手法，适合第一封邮件石沉大海之后。中国学习者常写成 I want to remind you——语法没错，但现在时听上去像下通知；用过去式 wanted 反而更客气。这是英语里「时态后撤＝语气软化」的通用规律，同理 I was wondering… 比 I am wondering… 客气。

4. escalating the problem · 把问题升级（往上反映） —— 职场高频商务术语。escalate 专指「对方不响应，把事情往上带一级」——Pippa 给的定义很清楚：involve someone more senior（让更高级别的人参与），具体做法就是抄送：“you might copy in on an email a manager.”（邮件里抄送一位经理。）它是个「有分量」的词，一说出口就带「我要动真格了」的意味，别当普通「联系」用。Phil 还提醒了一个坑：把一堆人全抄进邮件（adding lots of names）不叫升级，叫施压甩锅——抄送要少而准，最好提前跟对方打过招呼。

5. get back to you · 回复你、给你回音 —— 比 reply / answer 更口语、更地道的「回复你」，强调「回头给你个答复」，自带「需要一点时间」的缓冲。口头承诺用它：I’ll get back to you by tomorrow；抱怨等待也用它——Phil 的收尾就是最好示范：“It’s certainly very frustrating when people don’t get back to you.”（别人不回你，实在让人抓狂。）别与 get back（返回某地）混淆：get back to the office 是回办公室，get back to you 是回复你，看介词宾语是谁。方向也别搞反——它是「我去答复你」；催方想表达「等你回复」，该说 hope to hear back from you。

一、开场：催办这件事

词条	中文释义	原文例句
start really polite	一开场就非常客气	“And I always start really polite.”
chase them again and again	一遍遍反复催促	“you have to chase them again and again.”
chase people up	催办、跟进（本集题眼）	“So when I have to chase people up at work I don’t mind”
over and over again	一遍又一遍	“if you have to do it over and over again”
in a polite and professional way	礼貌又专业地	“how to remind people to do something in a polite and professional way.”

二、什么叫「催人一下」

词条	中文释义	原文例句
responded to you	给你回复、回应你	“if they haven’t responded to you”
time and energy	时间和精力	“we spend a lot of time and energy at work”
go back to them	回头再找他们	“We just mean to go back to them on email”
ask them one more time	再问一次	“to ask them one more time”
tend to	往往、倾向于	“people tend to be very polite and friendly”
send another reminder	再发一封提醒	“you might have to send another reminder”
convince them	说服他们	“how you can change your language to convince them”
get the job done	把事情办完、把活儿干完	“to convince them to get the job done.”

三、第一次提醒：客气开场

词条	中文释义	原文例句
just wondering	想问一下、不知道您……（委婉开场）	“just wondering if you saw my last email.”
aren’t always direct	说话不总那么直接	“people aren’t always direct”
allowing for the possibility	顾及某种可能、给对方留余地	“you’re allowing for the possibility that they might not have seen it.”
less direct	更委婉、不那么直接	“It’s less direct and it’s quite friendly.”
have you had a chance to	有没有机会……（礼貌催办）	“have you had a chance to… look at the report”
remind somebody about a task	提醒某人做某项任务	“a good way to remind somebody about a task”
difficult to find time	难以抽出时间	“or difficult to find time.”

四、二次跟进：语气加码、给定时间

词条	中文释义	原文例句
if you are able to	如果你能……（客客气气定期限）	“if you are able to send it by next week that would be great.”
deadline	截止日期	“giving them a deadline, a clear deadline”
vague	含糊的、模糊的	“which seems quite friendly and quite vague.”
or else	否则……（最后通牒味）	“they actually mean ‘do it by then, or else’.”
sent an email off	把邮件发了出去	“We’ve sent an email off politely”
had a response	收到回复	“but we still haven’t had a response.”
I wanted to remind you about	我想提醒你……（二次跟进）	“You could say I wanted to remind you about…”
a bit firmer	语气更坚定一些	“So that’s a bit firmer.”
a statement rather than a question	是陈述而不是提问	“it’s a statement rather than a question.”
a bit more distant	语气上更疏缓一点	“which kind of makes it a bit more distant.”
do this or else	照做，否则……	“‘do this or else’ as we said.”
please could you finish this by	请问您能否在……前完成	“please could you finish this by… the end of tomorrow”
very clear what needs to be done	要做什么清清楚楚	“It’s very clear what needs to be done and when.”

五、点明后果

词条	中文释义	原文例句
Otherwise	否则……（引出后果）	“And the next one is Otherwise…”
introduce the consequences	引出后果	“you would use that to introduce the consequences”
explain the urgency	说明紧迫性	“it might be good to explain the urgency.”
lose this client	失去这位客户	“otherwise… we might lose this client.”
would you mind	您介不介意……（非常客气的请求）	“Oh would you mind if you…”

六、换渠道与升级上报

词条	中文释义	原文例句
haven’t heard back	还没收到回音	“we still haven’t heard back.”
a different way of communicating	换一种沟通方式	“just try a different way of communicating with them.”
pick up the phone	拿起电话（直接打过去）	“So we could pick up the phone.”
going to their desk	走到对方工位前	“going to their desk in the office”
follow up with them	跟进（口头之后再补封邮件）	“You can then follow up with them on an email”
escalating the problem	把问题升级（往上反映）	“we could consider escalating the problem.”
copy in	抄送进邮件	“you might copy in on an email a manager.”
get overlooked	被忽视、被漏掉	“make sure that a problem doesn’t get overlooked.”

七、最终提醒

词条	中文释义	原文例句
final reminder	最终提醒	“this is a final reminder about…”
this is your last chance	这是你最后一次机会	“this is your last chance… to contribute to the report.”
the urgency of the situation	局面的紧迫性	“they know the urgency of the situation”
workplace cultures	职场文化	“in some workplace cultures”
culture of politeness and informality	礼貌又随意的文化	“there is this kind of culture of politeness and informality”

八、收尾：友好与专业之间

词条	中文释义	原文例句
persuade people to reply	说服别人回复	“try and persuade people to reply”
work with on a regular basis	日常共事	“you work with on a regular basis”
being friendly and being business-y	又友好又公事公办	“that difference between being friendly and being business-y”
stay professional	保持专业	“you also want to stay professional at work.”
get back to you	回复你、给你回音	“when people don’t get back to you.”
get on with your work	继续推进你的工作	“to get on with your work.”
chase your colleagues or clients	催同事或客户	“when you chase your colleagues or clients.”
instant messages	即时消息	“phone calls, instant messages and video calls”

扩展表达（未入选核心清单，但同样值得收）

词条	中文释义
mentioning it at a meeting	在会上提一嘴
I don’t know if you’ve seen my emails	不知道您看没看到我的邮件（当面催办开场）
I would really like your report by tomorrow	我确实希望明天能收到你的报告（当面直说）
at this point	到了这一步
day to day work	日常工作
respond to your boss	换你老板来问，就回了
the balance between being friendly and being businessy	友好与公事公办之间的平衡
break out	亮出、启用（那套最后通牒措辞）
remain professional	保持专业体面
straight away	立刻、马上

串词成段

邮件发出三天，对方毫无音讯。第一封你还可以客客气气：just wondering if you saw my last email？隔天再补一句 have you had a chance to look at the report？还是没动静，就升一级语气：I wanted to remind you about the deadline，并给出明确时间：please could you finish this by Friday。最后别忘了点明后果：Otherwise we might lose this client。再不行，就只能考虑 escalating the problem——不过抄送经理之前，记得先打个电话。

参考译文：邮件发出三天，对方毫无音讯。第一封你可以客客气气地开头：「想问一下，您看到我上一封邮件了吗？」隔天再补一句：「有没有机会看一下那份报告？」还是没动静，就把语气升一级：「我想提醒一下截止日期的事」，并给出明确时间：「请问能否在周五前完成？」最后点明后果：「否则我们可能会失去这位客户。」再不行，就只能考虑把问题升级——不过抄送经理之前，记得先打个电话。

完整台词（中英对照）

Pippa: What happens when you ask someone to do something at work and they haven't done it?

当你在工作中请同事帮忙，对方却没做时，该怎么办？

[同事语音] I feel OK about it.

我觉得没问题。

[同事语音] And I always start really polite.

我一开始总是很有礼貌。

[同事语音] But, obviously, if someone doesn't reply and then you need it and you have to chase them again and again.

但显然，如果对方不回消息，而你又急需处理，不得不反复催促，那就很麻烦了。

[同事语音] So when I have to chase people up at work I don't mind because generally it's just something they've forgotten about or they've missed the email.

所以工作中催办时我并不介意，毕竟大家通常只是忘了或者没看到邮件。

[同事语音] But yeah it can get a bit awkward if you have to do it over and over again and you're not sure why.

不过，如果得反复这么做却又不知缘由，确实会有点尴尬。

Phil: Today on Office English we're talking about how to remind people to do something in a polite and professional way.

今天的《职场英语》节目，我们将探讨如何礼貌且专业地提醒他人完成某项任务。

Pippa: Hello.

你好。

Pippa: Welcome to Office English from BBC Learning English.

欢迎收听 BBC 英语学习频道的《职场英语》。

Pippa: I'm Pippa.

我是皮帕。

Phil: And I'm Phil.

我是菲尔。

Phil: And this is your podcast guide to the language of the world of work.

这里是您的职场英语播客指南。

Pippa: Today we're talking about how to remind somebody to do something if they haven't responded to you, or how to chase people up at work.

今天我们来聊聊，如果对方没回复，该如何提醒他们，或者说，在职场中如何跟进催促。

Phil: Yep, as we heard at the start of the programme, we spend a lot of time and energy at work reminding other people to do things.

没错，正如节目开头所说，我们花大量时间和精力在职场上提醒别人做事。

Phil: So, Pippa, what do we mean, when we say we need to chase people up at work.

那么，皮帕，当我们说在工作中需要“催促”同事时，具体是指什么？

Pippa: Yeah, so we don't literally mean to chase people.

是的，我们并不是真的要去“追着”别人跑。

Pippa: We just mean to go back to them on email or speak to them again to ask them one more time 'can you please do this thing' or 'can you reply to me?' or send whatever you've asked them to do.

意思是再发封邮件、或再跟对方说一次：“能不能麻烦您做一下这件事？”“能回复我吗？”或者请他们把你要的东西发过来。

Pippa: So it's basically reminding somebody to do something.

所以，这基本上就是在提醒某人去做某事。

Pippa: We use the phrase chase people up.

我们用的短语就是 chase people up。

Phil: Actually, when you're chasing people up it can be quite important to think about who you're chasing up because we'd probably chase different people in different ways.

其实，催促他人时，对象不同，策略也应随之调整。

Pippa: Yes, in the UK, where we work, people tend to be very polite and friendly when they first chase someone up.

是的，在我们工作的英国，人们初次催促他人时，往往非常礼貌友好。

Pippa: Of course, you've then got the problem that they might not respond again.

当然，随之而来的问题是他们可能不再回复。

Pippa: So you might have to send another reminder and then another reminder.

所以你可能得发一封又一封的提醒邮件。

Pippa: So you might change your language each time.

所以你可能每次都会调整措辞。

Pippa: And today we're going to talk about each time you have to remind someone about a task and how you can change your language to convince them to get the job done.

今天我们来聊聊，每次你不得不提醒他人完成任务时，该如何调整话术，促使他们真正落实工作。

Phil: So we'll start by talking about the first time we need to remind someone of something.

那么，我们先来聊聊第一次需要提醒别人某事的情况。

Phil: What phrases can we use, Pippa?

我们可以用哪些短语呢，皮帕？

Pippa: Yes.

是的。

Pippa: So if I was sending an email to someone to chase them up or remind them about a task I would probably start by saying just wondering if you saw my last email.

所以，如果我要发邮件催促或提醒某人处理某项任务，我可能会以“不知您是否看到了我上一封邮件”作为开头。

Pippa: What d'you think about that, Phil?

菲尔，你怎么看？

Phil: Oh, yeah.

哦，对。

Phil: This is one that I would definitely use a lot.

这个我肯定经常用。

Phil: We talked about how in the UK, people aren't always direct and this is perhaps an example of this.

我们曾聊到英国人说话往往不够直白，这或许就是个例子。

Phil: It might be I know you've seen the email, I know I sent the email.

可能心里知道你看过那封邮件，也知道邮件确实发出去了。

Phil: But just wondering if you'd seen my last email.

只是想知道您是否看过我上一封邮件。

Phil: Cos you're allowing for the possibility that they might not have seen it.

因为你要考虑到他们可能没看到。

Phil: Yeah it...

嗯，它……

Phil: It's less direct and it's quite friendly.

这种方式更委婉，也显得更友好。

Phil: It's quite a nice way just to remind people that is very clear what you want them to do.

这是一种非常清晰明确地提醒他人你需要他们做什么的好方法。

Pippa: And then I might continue by saying, have you had a chance to... and then talk about the task I've asked them to do.

然后我可能会接着说“有没有机会……”，再点出我请他们做的那件事。

Pippa: So that's asking them quite directly, you know, have you had a chance to... look at the report, but I'm asking it politely.

所以，我其实是在很直接地问“有没有机会看一下那份报告”，但语气是礼貌的。

Pippa: I'm showing I understand that they're busy and I might not be the most important person in their day.

这表明我理解他们很忙，我可能并不是他们当天最要紧的人。

Pippa: But have you had a chance to... is a good way to remind somebody about a task that you've asked them to do.

用“有没有机会……”来提醒别人完成你交代过的任务，是个不错的方法。

Phil: And you're accepting the possibility that it might have been difficult for them to do it or difficult to find time.

你也要考虑到，他们可能觉得这件事很难做，或者很难抽出时间。

Phil: So, yeah in that way you're I guess showing more respect to the person that you're emailing.

所以，从这个角度看，你这样做其实是对邮件接收者表示更多的尊重。

Pippa: Yeah.

是啊。

Pippa: And a final kind of polite, friendly first reminder thing you can do is you can say something like if you are able to send it by next week that would be great.

最后一种礼貌友好的初次提醒方式是，你可以说：“如果能在下周前发给我，那就太好了。”

Pippa: So there you are giving them a deadline, a clear deadline, of when you would like the task completed by.

所以，你要给他们一个明确的截止日期，说明你希望任务何时完成。

Pippa: But it's polite still so you're still giving that impression that you understand their time and you're almost asking them rather than telling them.

但这依然不失礼貌，既传达出你对他们时间的尊重，又显得是在征询而非命令。

Phil: Of course it can be difficult if someone is chasing you up, depending who they are.

当然，如果对方紧追不舍，确实会很难办，具体要看对方是谁。

Phil: If they send something like that which seems quite friendly and quite vague.

如果他们发来那种看似友好却含糊其辞的信息。

Phil: If they're an important person, if it's a really important task, they might be using if you're able to... that would be great but they actually mean 'do it by then, or else'.

如果对方地位显赫，或者任务至关重要，他们可能会用“如果你能……那就太好了”这类委婉语，但实际意思却是“必须在那之前完成，否则后果自负”。

Pippa: Yes, that's the problem with this friendly, polite way of working that we have in the UK.

没错，这正是英国职场那种友好、礼貌的工作方式带来的问题。

Pippa: Sometimes it's difficult to know.

有时候，这确实难以判断。

Pippa: OK, so let's imagine that we've sent that first reminder.

好的，假设我们已经发出了第一封提醒邮件。

Pippa: We've sent an email off politely reminding somebody to do something, but we still haven't had a response.

我们礼貌地发邮件提醒某人做某事，但至今仍未收到回复。

Pippa: What do we do next, Phil?

下一步我们该怎么做，菲尔？

Pippa: How could we change our language slightly?

我们该如何稍微调整一下措辞？

Phil: OK, well, here's one.

好的，那我先说一个。

Phil: You could say I wanted to remind you about... and then you'd explain the thing that you're chasing about underneath.

你可以说“我想提醒你……”，然后顺势引出你真正想跟进的事项。

Pippa: Yeah, I like that.

嗯，我喜欢这个。

Pippa: So that's a bit firmer.

这样语气就坚定多了。

Pippa: It's more direct.

这样更直接。

Pippa: This time we're not asking somebody, you know, have you had a chance to..., we're saying I wanted to remind you about... so it's a statement rather than a question.

这次我们不再问“你有没有机会……”，而是直接说“我想提醒你……”，用陈述句代替疑问句。

Pippa: We're not asking, we're telling somebody to do something this time.

这次不是在问，而是在明确告知对方要做某事。

Phil: But it's interesting because we still have wanted.

但有意思的是，这里用的还是 wanted。

Phil: We've got it in the past there, which kind of makes it a bit more distant.

这里用了过去式，这让语气显得更疏缓一些。

Phil: There's still a little bit of politeness there, but it's a lot firmer than the ones we looked at before.

这里仍保留了一丝礼貌，但比我们之前看过的例子要坚定得多。

Pippa: Yeah, it's definitely politer than saying, 'do this or else' as we said.

没错，正如我们所说，这比说“照做，否则……”要礼貌得多。

Pippa: What's the next phrase, Phil?

下一句是什么，菲尔？

Phil: So: please could you finish this by... the end of tomorrow or whatever time.

所以是：请问我你能不能在……之前完成，比如明天下班前，或者随便什么时间。

Pippa: Yes, that's nice.

是的，那很好。

Pippa: So it's still a request.

所以这仍然是一个请求。

Pippa: We're still not telling them rudely to do something, but we are being very clear now about the deadline: please could you do this by... this time tomorrow then you clearly say that's what needs to happen.

我们依然没有粗鲁地命令他们，但现在对截止日期非常明确：请你在明天这个时候前完成，这样你就清楚地表明了要求。

Phil: Yeah, there's not really any space there for us for something different to happen is there?

是啊，看来我们确实没有余地让事情有所改变，对吧？

Phil: It's very clear what needs to be done and when.

需要做什么、何时做，都一目了然。

Phil: And the next one is Otherwise... and of course you would use that to introduce the consequences of something not happening.

下一个是“Otherwise”，当然，它用于引出某事未发生所带来的后果。

Phil: This is where it starts to get quite serious I think at this point, isn't it?

我想到了这一步，事情就开始变得相当严肃了，不是吗？

Pippa: Yeah.

是啊。

Pippa: It might sometimes be right to explain what's going to happen if they don't do the thing.

有时，有必要说明如果他们不采取行动会有什么后果。

Pippa: We don't really want to threaten somebody at this point, depending on how serious it is that they haven't responded but it might be good to explain the urgency.

现阶段我们并不想威胁对方，但视其未回复的严重程度，或许可以说明一下事情的紧迫性。

Pippa: So we could say otherwise... we might lose this client.

否则……我们可能会失去这位客户。

Pippa: So we are reminding somebody of what might happen if they don't do what we've asked them to do.

所以，我们是在提醒对方，如果不照我们说的做，可能会面临什么后果。

Pippa: That's just another way to kind of make it seem more serious and more direct rather than our language we had in our first email that was very friendly, really just asking 'Oh would you mind if you..., if you have the time, please could you help me with this important thing?'

这不过是让语气显得更严肃、更直接，不像我们第一封邮件那样友好，只是客气地问：“如果您方便的话，能否帮个忙处理这件重要的事？”

Phil: Right, Pippa.

好的，皮帕。

Phil: We've tried all those options and we still haven't heard back.

我们已经尝试了所有方案，但至今仍未收到回复。

Phil: Are there any other phrases we could try?

还有没有其他可以试试的短语？

Pippa: Well, this is where it starts to get difficult.

好吧，从这里开始事情就变得棘手了。

Pippa: So we could just try a different way of communicating with them.

那我们可以试试换种方式跟他们沟通。

Pippa: So we could pick up the phone.

我们可以直接打个电话过去。

Pippa: We don't do that very often these days at work, or we certainly don't do that much in our day to day work.

如今在工作中，我们很少这样做，或者说在日常工作中几乎不会这么做。

Pippa: But phoning someone or mentioning it at a meeting, going to their desk in the office to say I don't know if you've seen my emails, but I would really like your report by tomorrow.

但打电话、在会议上提及，或走到对方工位前说：“不知您是否看到我的邮件，但我确实希望明天能收到您的报告。”

Pippa: You can then follow up with them on an email, that means just send an email to say I just spoke to you about this.

之后你可以发邮件跟进，简单提一句你刚才和他们聊过这件事即可。

Pippa: And then another thing we could do is we could consider escalating the problem.

另外，我们也可以考虑将问题升级处理。

Pippa: Now, escalating is sort of a business term we use to say we are going to involve someone more senior, so you might copy in on an email a manager.

“升级”是个职场术语，意思是把更高级别的人拉进来，比如在邮件里抄送经理。

Pippa: That means you send the email also to your manager or their manager.

也就是说，你也要把邮件抄送给你的经理或他们的上级。

Pippa: That will really depend on your workplace, what the request is, what the consequences are of them not having done the thing.

这主要取决于你的工作环境、具体请求内容，以及他们未完成任务所带来的后果。

Pippa: But it could be useful.

但这或许有用。

Pippa: If they're not responding to you, maybe they'll respond to your boss.

如果他们不回复你，或许会回复你的老板。

Phil: Yeah, it very much depends on the culture of the place you're working, doesn't it?

是啊，这很大程度上取决于你所在公司的企业文化，对吧？

Phil: And also how it's done.

以及具体是如何操作的。

Phil: It might be done in a helpful way to make sure that a problem doesn't get overlooked.

这样做或许能确保问题不被遗漏。

Phil: Or sometimes you see people doing it in very cynical ways of just adding lots of names into an email which is perhaps slightly different.

或者有时你会看到有人很鸡贼地往邮件里塞一大堆名字，那就另当别论了。

Pippa: And then the final thing we can do is be clear about when our final email is.

最后，我们要明确最后一封邮件的发送时间。

Pippa: OK?

明白吗？

Pippa: When our final reminder is.

也就是最终提醒的时间点。

Pippa: So I might send an email saying something like this is a final reminder about... or I might use the phrase this is your last chance... to contribute to the report.

所以我可能会发邮件说“这是关于……的最后提醒”，或者用“这是你提交报告的最后机会”这样的说法。

Pippa: What do you think about that, Phil?

菲尔，你怎么看？

Phil: Yeah.

是啊。

Phil: Again, it's very good, cos it's very clear.

再次强调，这非常好，因为表达得很清晰。

Phil: So it's just a way to make sure everyone knows they know the urgency of the situation, they perhaps know possible consequences.

所以，这只是为了确保每个人都清楚局势的紧迫性以及可能带来的后果。

Pippa: Yeah.

是的。

Pippa: And we should say that in some workplace cultures you would probably be that direct in your first reminder.

应该说，在某些职场文化中，你第一次提醒时就会这么直接。

Pippa: So some places, don't have this strange situation where we have to pretend that we didn't send an email and remind someone did you see my email and all these questions.

所以有些地方不会出现这种尴尬的情况：明明发了邮件，却还要假装没发，然后反复追问“你看到我的邮件了吗”之类的。

Pippa: But certainly in the UK and probably also in the US there is this kind of culture of politeness and informality that means we don't send someone the final reminder straight away if they haven't done something.

但至少在英国，可能在美国也是如此，我们有一种既礼貌又随意的文化，这意味着如果某人没完成某事，我们不会立刻发最终提醒。

Pippa: So we've learned some phrases to try and persuade people to reply and get the job done.

所以，我们学了一些短语，试着说服别人回复并完成任务。

Pippa: So let's hear again from our BBC Learning English colleagues.

那么，让我们再次听听BBC英语学习栏目同事们的分享。

[同事语音] OK, so when I have to chase people up at work.

好的，那在工作中我需要催促别人时。

[同事语音] I don't mind because generally it's just something they've forgotten about all they've missed the email.

我不介意，通常只是他们忘了，或者没看到邮件。

[同事语音] But it can get a bit awkward if you have to do it over and over again and you're not sure why.

但如果不得不反复这样做，又不知缘由，场面难免有些尴尬。

[同事语音] Sometimes it's more difficult to chase somebody up that you work with on a regular basis.

有时，催促那些日常共事的同事反而更难开口。

[同事语音] It's a bit difficult with that difference between being friendly and being business-y because you actually need something.

在“友好”与“公事公办”之间拿捏分寸确实有点难，毕竟你确实有求于人。

Pippa: So, Phil, Beth was talking there about the balance between being friendly and being businessy, or professional.

那么，菲尔，贝丝刚才谈到了在友好与专业之间取得平衡的问题。

Pippa: What do you think about that when it comes to chasing people up?

你觉得在催促他人时，这种情况怎么样？

Phil: It does make it harder, doesn't it?

这确实让事情变得更难了，不是吗？

Phil: It means you can't... it's a lot harder to break out the final reminder language, or to use that.

这意味着你很难……很难说出那套“最终提醒”的话，很难用上它。

Pippa: But, yeah that's why I think, in general, we've talked a lot in this series about having the balance between being friendly and polite and professional.

不过，这也是为什么我认为，在本系列节目中我们多次强调，要在友善、礼貌与专业之间找到平衡。

Pippa: So you always want to be friendly and polite, but you also want to stay professional at work.

既要保持友善礼貌，又要维持职场专业度。

Phil: It's certainly very frustrating when people don't get back to you.

别人不回消息确实让人很抓狂。

Phil: Especially when you need their response to get on with your work.

尤其是当你需要他们的回复才能继续工作时。

Phil: But hopefully the phrases we've discussed today will help you remain professional when you chase your colleagues or clients.

希望今天讨论的这些表达能帮你在催促同事或客户时保持专业。

Pippa: That's it for this episode of Office English.

本期《职场英语》到此结束。

Pippa: Remember, you can find courses and activities to help with your English at work on our website

请记住，您可以在我们的网站上找到有助于提升职场英语的课程和活动。

Phil: Next time, we're talking about phone calls, instant messages and video calls, and the language we need to communicate well at work.

下期我们将探讨电话、即时消息和视频通话，以及职场高效沟通所需的语言技巧。

Pippa: Until then, Bye!

在那之前，再见！

Phil: Bye!

再见！