词汇大师--'Don't Let Somebody Else's Words

　　AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: We're back with management expert Kathleen Kelley Reardon, talking about her new book, "Comebacks at Work: Using Conversation to Master Confrontation¹."
RS: She says dealing² with different kinds of people requires different kinds of communication strategies.
KATHLEEN REARDON: "People that are spoilers, for example, that, you know, every time you say something, they say 'Oh, we did that already.'"
RS: "So you -- "

　　KATHLEEN REARDON: "Well, you say 'Well, you know, we did do something like this at a different point in time. And you're right, it didn't work. Now I'm proposing that we do something different from it, at a propitious³ point of time, and it's going to work.
"So you'd don't dismiss what they said, that it was done before, something like it. But you don't fight them on their words. In other words, you don't let somebody else's words dictate⁴ how the discussion is going to go all the time."
AA: "Well, you have to be -- if you're going to say 'It's going to work this time,' you have to be pretty sure it's going to work this time or else that person is going  to have more ammunition⁵ the next time."
RS: "Or at least have a plan."
KATHLEEN REARDON: "Yeah, but you can't live in fear.  [Laughter]"
AA: "True."
KATHLEEN REARDON: "I mean, that's what 'Comebacks' is about, too. People live in constant fear of what somebody's going to say. That's not a good use of time, and we've all been there. I'm not saying that you can give up planning how you might present your ideas.
"I'm talking about those situations where you walk into a meeting and somebody says 'Oh, look who decided⁶ to show up today -- and on time.' Those things happen in the workplace all the time. And they happen at school to kids. They happen at meetings of the church choir⁷. It's just life."
AA: "Now, you teach at the University of Southern California. That has a large population of international students. I'm curious, have you seen differences among your students in how they respond to what might be perceived as an insult, or how they interact?"
KATHLEEN REARDON: "Right. I taught in the international MBA program for several years and we used to have running conversations about the directness of American students and their tendency to handle on the spot what was happening, at the sacrifice of the process of what was going on in front of them.
"And so the saving of relationships was less important. You know, I'm sort of paraphrasing⁸ what the students from Japan, from Asian countries and elsewhere were saying -- that they were willing, too willing to sacrifice a person's face or their relationship with them in order to give some cute comment or provide some humor for a few minutes, which created strain in the ongoing⁹ project they'd be working on. So that was very typical."
AA: "You mean that the Americans were willing to sacrifice, seemed willing to -- so those students must have been maybe shocked to see that?"
KATHLEEN REARDON: "It was culture shock for a little while. And, you know, it was a very good thing to hear, because the students who were doing that didn't intend to do it in most cases. They wanted the project to be a success just as much as anyone else. But when it's a product of your culture and it's inbred like it is -- and you know that people are often promoted in American companies because of their quick-witted responses on their feet, or at least that's what you think is going to happen in a lot of companies -- then you do that kind of thing.
"And I spent time in my classes with them showing them that the same thing could be accomplished¹⁰ without shutting doors to working well with somebody in the future. And, actually, unless an organization is highly political or -- you know, what I've written about in 'Secret Handshake,' another book -- pathologically political, most of the time people don't appreciate what sometimes MBAs think is a way to show how bright you are."
RS: Kathleen Reardon is a management professor on leave from the University of Southern California, and the author, with Christopher Noblet, of "Comebacks at Work: Using Conversation to Master Confrontation."
AA: You can find the first part of our interview and download our podcasts at voanews.com/wordmaster. And that's WORDMASTER for this week. With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti.

 

1 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 propitious   

adj.吉利的；顺利的

参考例句：

• The circumstances were not propitious for further expansion of the company.这些情况不利于公司的进一步发展。
• The cool days during this week are propitious for out trip.这种凉爽的天气对我们的行程很有好处。

4 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

5 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

8 paraphrasing   

v.释义，意译( paraphrase的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I'm paraphrasing but this is honestly what he said. 我是在转述，但这的确是他说的意思。 来自柯林斯例句

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。