“Excuse me, where is the nearest bus stop?” “Excuse me, what time is it?” “Pardon me, is there a bathroom over here?” “Sorry to bother you, but have you seen James at all?”
“May I use your phone for a minute?” “May I come in?” “May I make a quick suggestion?” “May I have some food?”
For example, instead of asking “Where is the bathroom?” you could say, “Would you mind telling me where the bathroom is?” As another example, avoid asking something like, “When does the store close?” You could ask, “Could you tell me how late you’re open?” Try adding the word “possibly” into your question to sound even more courteous. For example, you might ask, “Can you possibly drive me to the airport tonight?”[4] X Research source You could instead add the phrase to the end of your sentence if the statement initially sounds negative. For example, you could ask, “You couldn’t help me out, could you?” or “You wouldn’t mind picking me up later, would you?”[5] X Research source
“Did you want some more water?” “Did you want to go see that movie later?” “Did you need some help with that?” “Did you have a nice weekend?”
“Do you know when the meeting starts?” “Would you happen to know when she’s supposed to arrive?” “Do you remember what he said last night?” “Can you remember where I left my keys?”
“Do you know if the train has already left?” “Do you remember if we fed the dog?” “Could you tell me whether or not she arrived on time?”
“Could you please tell me where to throw this away?” “Can you please explain that to me again?” “May I have another cookie, please?” “Excuse me, but would you please tell me what time it is?”
Smile while you’re talking to help you naturally have a cheery tone.
Avoid thinking of what to say next while the person is talking, or else you might miss important information they’re giving you.
You can even repeat things the person has said back to them to prove that you’re listening.
For example, let’s say you asked, “Could you please tell me where the nearest bus stop is?” and the person responds, “On Main Street. ” You could follow up by asking, “Would you mind telling me which direction that is?” As another example, if you asked “Did you need some help with that?” and they say yes, you might ask, “What can I do to be the most helpful right now?” If you’re asking the person to repeat themselves because you missed what they said, apologize. For example, you might say, “I’m sorry, could you please repeat that for me?”[14] X Research source
Try learning more about the topic on your own time so you can get a better understanding of it as well.
Reflect on if you need to know the answer or not. If it’s something that isn’t very important and could be controversial, just avoid asking it. [17] X Trustworthy Source Harvard Business Review Online and print journal covering topics related to business management practices Go to source
