Politeness in Spoken Language

Making the Listener feel Good

• Supportive back-channels
• Paying compliments
• Nicknames/Terms of Endearment
• Convergence
• Respectful Terms
• Humour and Laughter

"Hey Mick, lookin' good today, lad!"

Don't Impose

• Apologises
• Indirectness
• Being Respectful
• Tag Questions
• Hedges and Vague Language
• Using Modals to mitigate (soften) a command

"Sorry, I'm late! I hope everyone is doing okay today. It's a good idea to start on page nine where we left off - don't you think? Could you please start that task - that would be great."