職場英語：保持低調也能升職嗎
筆者知道你是怎麼想的：這聽起來一點都不靠譜。在一個可以把個人特長表露無遺的機會下，誰還會想要一聲不吭地保持低調呢?
因爲這樣做可以幫助你應對各種挑戰——實際上還能保持你良好的形象。如果你不安於現狀，惹毛客戶或同事，與別人針鋒相對，或遠離辦公室政治，那麼你就應該裝聾作啞(好吧，有點迷惑)。看看下面的內容是怎麼說的。
you see an area for improvement
1. 如果你看到了發展的空間。
As a newbie, your first couple of weeks on the job are the perfect time to mention that something brand new — and inefficient — doesn't quite make sense to you. Your unfamiliarity is an in to discuss other ways you've seen similar tasks accomplished, as well as parts of the process that seem counterintuitive.
作爲一名職場菜鳥，開始工作的幾周是談論全新事物或低效工作的最佳時期，不過對你來說其實是毫無用處的。你在這裏的陌生感只能談論你所見識到的相似任務，以及這個過程看起來有點不符合常理。
While you can't play that card once you've been somewhere for months or years, you can always ask for more information. In other words, if your boss doesn't usually take too kindly to, "Let's change this," skip that approach. Instead try, "In our next meeting, could you walk me through the thinking behind [a certain process]? It would help me [sell our product/work collaboratively/train someone new] if I had a better understanding of the [context/details]."
當你已經在公司裏呆上好一段時間了，不能再使用這個方法的時候，你可以多作詢問。也就是說，你的老闆總不會友善迴應你的“讓我們改變現狀吧!”的說法。直接忽略這一步，而是，“下一次會議的時候，請問您能否給我解釋這個流程的原理。這能夠幫助我(出售產品/團隊合作/培訓新人)，如果我更好地理解這些(背景知識/細節)的話。”
You've tied learning more to doing your job better, so it's likely your boss will oblige. Then, when you are discussing the particulars of how a certain process works, ask the occasional, "Have we considered [this innovation]?"
你爲了更好地完成任務而主動去學習更多，所以你的老闆是很樂意爲你解答的。接下來，當你們在討論具體流程的操作步驟時，你可以不時地問：“我們是否考慮過(這個新方法)呢?”
Another possible outcome: Once your boss walks you through the details, maybe you'll understand the why and no longer see the need to make improvements.
另外一個可能的結果：當你的老闆爲你解釋了所有的細節，可能你就瞭解了其中的道理卻再也沒有想要獲得進步的動力了。
職場英語：保持低調也能升職嗎
you're dealing with a difficult person
2. 與難相處的人相處
Feigning naiveté is also a great way to approach difficult personalities. Let's say you're told that a certain colleague or stakeholder is known for being abrasive. You could go into your first meeting with this person planning to be especially patronizing (or confrontational), or you could pretend that you had never heard he was difficult. When a co-worker says, "Oh, well you know George is the worst," you respond, "Really? I hadn't heard that." Then you enter the meeting truly acting like you've never heard that before.
假裝天真也是一個處理複雜人際關係的很好的方法。假如有人告訴你某位同事或客戶很難相處，你可以在初次見面的時候就想象對方自視過高(或對抗挑釁)，或者你還可以假裝你從不知道對方難相處這件事。當一位同事說。“噢，你知道嗎，George最難搞了。”你的回答是，“是嗎?我還沒聽說過呢。”然後你就在會面的時候表現得你真的從未聽過這個說法一樣。
Now, who do think is more likely to build inroads with George?
那麼，現在誰纔是真正跟George相處不好的人呢?
This approach is good for other common workplace annoyances. With the co-worker who takes credit for your work, you can try, "I had no idea we were on the exact same page about X. Great minds think alike!" With the manager who always assigns you projects on Friday at 4 PM, you can try, "I looked back through my project list and couldn't find this anywhere. Did I miss something during our check-in?"
這個方法對普遍的職場困擾很有效。如果你的同事稱讚你的工作，你可以這麼說：“我還真的不知道我們對這件事的看法是一樣的!英雄所見略同啊!”如果你的上司常常在週五安排你工作到很晚，你可以這麼說，“我再次通篇瀏覽了我的工作任務表，但我實在找不到這件事情，不知道是不是在我們討論的時候我遺漏了呢?”
These responses allow you to address the situation without being confrontational. Ironically, the subtext of these lines is, "I know exactly what's going on here," and that can make the difference in how these people treat you in the future.
這些迴應能夠幫助你處理情況，也免於與對方的針鋒相對。有趣的是，這些話的潛臺詞是：“我很清楚發生什麼事情。”這能夠讓別人對待你的方式上有很大的差別。
you disagree
3. 如果你不贊同。
Picture this: A teammate — or worse, your boss — suggests the worst idea you've ever heard. "That's a terrible idea" isn't going to win you any congeniality awards, and it will probably make the other person defensive.
想象一下：一名團隊夥伴——或更甚，你的老闆，說出了一個你認爲是最糟糕的想法。“這個想法很糟糕”這句話不會讓你們的合作關係更進一步，反而讓別人對你產生敵意。
If there are red flags jumping out at you, odds are they may be in your colleague's blind spot (or, the overwhelming benefits aren't yet clear to you). So, before you launch into a counter-attack, ask for clarification.
如果你發現了有危險的信號，有可能是你的同事存在認知盲點(或者你還沒意識到大多數的好處)。所以，在你準備反駁的時候，先請求對方把觀點說明白。
Try: "I'm not quite sure I understand what you're saying. Could you explain it differently?" Asking someone to explain her point in a new way should bring additional information to light. Of course, she'll be more likely to walk through her thinking if you choose the non-confrontational, "I'm not sure I get it..." over the arrogant: "I'm not sure I understand how this would work, given these five things I've already considered as well as their possible repercussions."
嘗試這樣：“我不太理解你所說的觀點，能否換個說法解釋一下?”請求對方用新的角度解釋她的觀點這樣能夠給予你更多新信息。當然，對方更樂意因爲你的非對抗性的詢問方式給你解釋，比如“我不太明白......”而不是“我看不出來這個方法怎麼能行，我早已考慮了這些因素以及它們的反作用。”
you're trying to avoid office politics
4. 如果你想逃離辦公室政治。
Repeat after me: "I must've missed that." Now, imagine a co-worker stops by your cubicle to ask your opinion on nasty words exchanged in a meeting, someone being passed over for a project, or some other salacious news.
請跟我說：“我想我肯定錯過了。”現在，想象一下一位同事在你的小隔間旁邊，用粗言穢語詢問你對會議，別人在任務上的失誤，或者其他不雅的新聞的觀點。
Maybe you're the sort of person who can craft a diplomatic response on the spot (in which case, rock on!). But for the rest of us, the best bet is often not to get involved. And if you go with "no comment" or "I'd rather not that discuss that," you may be seen as stiff or judgmental. With, "I must have missed that," you manage to remove yourself without taking sides.
也許你是懂得描繪外交說法的人。但是很多人，通常都認爲事不關己纔是王道。如果你說“沒有想法”或“我不想討論這件事”，你就會看起來呆板又主觀。如果你說，“我猜我肯定錯過這件事了”，這樣你就可以把自己的位置拉到中庸的地方。
Some people think the office is the place to be all power, all brilliance, all the time. And while you should strive to make a powerful and brilliant impression, an occasional question or clarification won't discount your abilities — but it may help you squeeze through a tricky situation with your reputation intact.
有些人認爲辦公室應該總是充滿權力，形象光輝的地方。而當你努力成爲一名有權力，形象光輝的人的時候，偶爾的一個問題或聲明不會給你的能力打折扣，甚至會幫助你靈活應對微妙的情況還能保持完整的名譽形象。
