Time to change course
他の人が間違っているときに助言をするのは大変難しいことです。このブログでは、そういう人に違う風にやり方を変える様、或いはもっと努力するように仕向ける様、その人の努力に敬意を払いつつ使える3つの英語表現を、お伝えします。ご自身よりジュニアな同僚、チーム、或いは顧客に対して有効な表現です。
1. "Directionally correct"
Two definitions of this phrase are:
- someone has tried to do something right, but failed to do so; and
- the analysis is correct in its broad conclusions, but the numbers are wrong.
Here is how you can use it:
Example 1: What you did here is directionally correct, but not exactly what we were hoping for.
Example 2: Let's not get too hung up on the details. The analysis is directionally correct, so it should be okay.
2. "The right road, but the wrong direction"
This sounds like you're saying the analysis is asking the right questions, but in the consulting business, it means that someone made a huge mistake, because the analysis is wrong.
Example: You found the right road, but took the wrong direction. Let's backtrack and start again.
3. "Tighten up" or "clean up"
This is basically like how you'd clean up your desk or room. Overall, it's good, but you want to make it look better. If it is some kind of a report, it means things like making sure your grammar and spelling are correct and cutting out unnecessary information.
Example 1: This is a great start, but let's tighten it up.
Example 2: The analysis is good, but we're going to have to clean it up a bit before giving it to the client.
Speaking of tightening things up, how long or short do you like these blog posts? Are shorter ones better or do you like the variety in length? If you have any comments, questions, or requests, please let us know through comments on the blogs, teachers, or our support team!
—
Needless to say—a phrase we use before we are about to say something we feel is quite obvious. Other versions of this are: this goes without saying, but... / Obviously, / Of course,...
nugget—read this blog post for the definition and examples!
backtrack—go back over a course or path