Formal or informal?

How formal should we be at work?

I think it's more about the context than how formal the language should be.

I think with colleagues that you spend a lot of time with, you have a bit more freedom to be informal because it takes a lot of effort to be formal with people you see all the time.

If you get on quite well with your colleagues and you're just having a chat about the weekend, then of course you can speak using language you wouldn't use in a meeting with your boss.

Today we're talking about formal and informal workplace language.

So, Phil, we've just been hearing from some of our BBC Learning English colleagues about using formal language at work. What do we mean by formal language, Phil? What's the difference between formal and informal language?

Sometimes this could be a bit tricky, but the main thing to think is that it's the kind of language that you probably don't use with your friends and family. It's often more like the kind of language you'd write in a letter, maybe.

Mhm. Yeah. So it can include lots of different things. It can be about the style of language that you use. It can be about speaking in more full sentences or more words, or it can be about the kind of vocabulary you use as well. So it's lots of different things. Informal language is usually things you would say to your friends and family and using language like contractions or colloquialisms, shortenings. That's what we mean by informal language.

Yes. And it can sometimes be tricky to know how formal to be at work, because different workplaces have different, have a different culture. Some places are just more formal than others. And the most important thing to do is to be able to recognise it and try and fit in with everyone else.

So today we'll discuss greetings, requests and instructions, and we'll look at some formal and informal phrases for each.

OK, let's start with greetings and introductions. Let's imagine you're meeting somebody new as part of your job, maybe for a meeting. How formal should you be?

Well, it depends on the context, Phil. You might want to think about the person you're meeting. How important are they? Have you emailed before, or is this the first time you're meeting them? Maybe do they have any expectations from the meeting? So maybe they're someone from within your organisation and there's certain ways that people talk to each other at your organisation. Maybe they're from a different business that you know is quite formal. That will change how you greet them. A formal greeting would be to say something like, 'Good morning. Nice to meet you.'

Yes. With people that you work with every day, you might be more informal and just say something like, 'hey, how are you doing?'

Yeah. Or 'great to meet you.' There are kind of lots of different versions that go from the most formal to the least formal. And so you can use quite informal language even with important people sometimes. It's just trying to understand the situation you're in. Now, Phil, do we tend to use titles, um, in British workplaces? So that's saying sir or madam or calling someone Mr. Bird rather than just Phil?

I don't think it's that common in most British workplaces. Um, there are some exceptions. And where might it be different, Pippa?

Um, well, in more sort of professional contexts, such as in a hospital, doctors are often referred to as doctor and then their surname in maybe the police force people would refer to people almost by their rank within the organisation. It's not so common in offices, really. Um, we would tend to just use people's first names.

And as well as different industries or different companies, this can vary between different countries as well. So you might find that in other countries they're more likely to use titles, um, when they're speaking English.

OK. Let's think about another scenario. You need to make a request at work, perhaps for some help on a project you're working on. Shall we talk about some formal and informal options, Phil?

Yeah. So there are just some expressions that we tend to use more in formal contexts. Things like 'could I request', 'would it be possible?', 'Do you have spare capacity?' And when you think about it, these are just not expressions we'd use with our friends and family. You wouldn't look at your dining table and go, oh, ‘I have some spare capacity for my dinner party tonight. Would you like to attend? ‘Um, it's just not how we'd say it.

Yeah, exactly. So some informal alternatives would be saying something like, oh, 'could I borrow you?' or 'do you have a minute?' 'Is there a chance that you could help me?' These are all a little bit more informal. You can imagine saying to your friend, 'could I borrow you for a minute?' or 'are you free to chat?' Um, they're just a little bit more relaxed.

As always, with things about formality and politeness. It depends on the context of your company. How well do you know people? What do people expect you to do? Um, that's the kind of thing you need to follow. Again, look to see how other people do it and try to do something similar.

So that's requests. But what about instructions? Should these be formal or informal, Phil?

Formal instructions can vary because sometimes we have very polite, very formal structures which can perhaps not be that clear. But then also sometimes we have really direct instructions, almost like a road sign with lots of imperatives, which again, you probably wouldn't say to your friends because you wouldn't want to annoy them.

So, a formal but polite way of giving an instruction would be to say something like, 'we would ask that you come into the office on Tuesdays'. But a formal, direct way of saying that would be...

'Attendance at the office on Tuesdays is mandatory.'

Now, these are both formal ways of putting it, but they have a slightly different feel. Another really kind of common thing to see in formal instructions is things like please, saying something like, 'please be mindful that...' Let's think back to our sort of friends and family example. You wouldn't really say, please be mindful to your friends. Um, what about informal instructions? When would you use informal instructions, Phil?

So yes, we'd use, informal instructions are what you'd use with your friends and family, but also with people you work with who you know quite well. We can have expressions like 'what you want to do is...' 'I tend to...', um, 'I've found it's best to...' things like that. Um, are just an informal way of giving instructions.

Um, yeah. And these could be useful if you're giving spoken instructions or training to a colleague if you're chatting about something. Whereas those formal examples we gave earlier, they might be more suited to an email or a guide that you're writing down and you're giving to lots of people in a more formal context.

That's it for this episode of Office English. Want to improve your speaking skills? Try Beating Speaking Anxiety. Our series with tips to help you fight your fears of speaking English. There's a link in the notes below this programme.

Thanks for joining us and goodbye.

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