Does your intonation sound rude or polite?

Hi, Nice to meet you.

Um, hi. Nice to meet you…too.

Do you know what happened there?

Romain’s words sounded friendly, but his intonation certainly didn’t.

And that’s what communicates the emotion. The intonation.

I’m Christina and you’re watching Speak Better, Feel Great TV.

The place to boost your English and boost your career.

In this video, I’m gonna show you how to sound polite,

not rude,

with your intonation.

You ready?

There’s a difference between sounding unfriendly

and friendly,

and it’s all in the intonation.

Listen to these examples.

I don’t know

I don’t know.

Have a seat.

Have a seat.

No, sorry.

No, sorry.

Romain , do you know one big stereotype that Americans have about the French?

We’re romantic,

have the best food,

and are très chic

right and that French people are rude.

And I’d be willing to bet

that intonation is partially responsible for this stereotype.

After all, you guys are lovely, French people.

Romain’s a nice guy.

yes i'm

But maybe your intonation is giving your American colleagues a different impression.

Let’s practice with a short dialogue.

I’ll ask a question.

You’ll see the response on the screen.

And try to say it with polite intonation.

Then listen to me (or Romain) say it.

What do you think of the report

It looks good.

Can you hear what happens in polite responses?

The intonation goes down,

and then it goes up.

“It looks good”

I don’t know

Have a seat

No, sorry.

Now that you know the secret,

let’s practice again, just like before, with some short dialogues.

Do you have any news from Claire?

Do you have any news from Claire?

I don’t, I’m afraid.

Here’s your coffee.

Here’s your coffee.

Thank you very much.

NewSoft Technologies. Can I help you?

NewSoft Technologies. Can I help you?

Hi, I’d like to speak to Patrick Corbin please.

Now, I’d love to hear from you,

and in English if you can.

Did you know about the importance of intonation to sound polite?

We can all learn from your ideas.

and the comments section

is the best place to practice your English

and ask me questions.

If you liked this video, help me boost the English level of French people everywhere!

Share this video with your colleagues on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or

send the link by email!

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Thank you so much for watching Speak Better, Feel Great TV.

I’m Christina and I’ll see you next time.