Varied intonation
One of the most important things to remember when you want to be polite is to have varied intonation (not flat). That means your voice goes up a little higher than normal. And you have a rising intonation at the end. (That means your voice goes up ? at the end.)
Notice the differences in the intonation of the two requests below. Which is more polite? Why?
 |
 |
Listen to these two requests. One of them uses polite intonation and one of them doesn’t. Listen to both and choose the one that sounds polite.
Next, repeat the polite version. Be sure to vary your intonation and go up ? at the end.Which is more polite—1 or 2? Listen.
1
2
Talk about it Why does one sound more polite than the other? Can you repeat the request with polite intonation?
Open the Exercise below, listen to the requests, and choose which one sounds more polite. Repeat the polite one you hear.