陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作。他在餐廳里找到美國同Amy 。
　　(Office ambience)
　　A：Hello Chen Hao. How are you?
　　C：還行。不過，我有點事想征求一下你的意見。
　　A：What is it?
　　C：你認識我們辦公室的Sue嗎？
　　A：I've worked on a couple of projects with her. Why?
　　C：我告訴你，你可得保密，Sue正在找工作。
　　A：Why is that a problem?
　　C：她讓我做她的推薦人。
　　A：That bothers you?
　　C：Sue工作不是很靠譜，推薦她，那不等于說瞎話嘛！
　　A：What did you say when she came to you?
　　C：我沒直接回答她。我說那份新工作聽上去是個不錯的機會，然后就假稱要開會，逃掉了。
　　A：I have a couple of suggestions for you.
　　C：太好了，你快告訴我。我今天一天都躲躲藏藏的，生怕遇到Sue。
　　A：Let's sit down over there.
　　******
　　兩人坐下，邊吃邊聊。
　　C：Amy，你快說說，我該怎么辦。
　　A：Sue must have some positive traits or she wouldn't be working here.
　　C：優點肯定是有，不過我得仔細想想。
　　A：I suggest that you make a list of her strengths.
　　C：可她的缺點要比優點多得多。
　　A：Try not to focus on her shortcomings, but list them out, too. You can call them areas where she needs to grow.
　　C：需要改進的地方？那人家給我打電話，了解Sue的情況，我該怎么說呢？
　　A：You begin by saying that she is a good team player, but could benefit from the opportunity to work independently and grow professionally. That makes you honest.
　　C：有道理，我就說她很容易相處，但是如果有一個獨立工作，需要精湛技能的機會，將對她有幫助。可是Amy,我怎么才能不去提她的缺點呢？
　　A：Let the interviewer know that you have worked with Sue on a limited basis so you can only speak about your experience on the team.
　　C：就說，跟Sue共事機會不多，有些情況沒有發言權。Amy, 我有個更簡單的辦法，要不我這段時間干脆不接電話了，留言也不回。
　　A：That's cowardly. Besides it will reflect poorly on you.
　　C：要這么說，不回電子郵件也行不通了。
　　A：You have another choice. You can tell Sue that you aren't comfortable in giving references to her because you are afraid of saying the wrong thing.
　　C：這樣好。我就說自己英語不好，搞不好詞不達意，再說錯了話。
　　A：It is difficult when a colleague who is not a good worker asks you for a reference.
　　C：你能在重復一遍，我都有哪些選擇嗎？
　　A：If you agree to be a reference, rehearse what you plan to say. Don't allow yourself to be drawn into areas where you are not comfortable.