One of the biggest problems is speed. Native speakers, especially business people, tend to speak very quickly on the telephone. Here are some practical tips to get native speakers of English to slow down!

主要的一個問題是語速。說母語的人，尤其是商務人士，打電話的時候說話語速都很快。下面是一些實用的小貼士可以讓母語是英語的人放慢說話的速度。

* Immediately ask the person to speak slowly.

* 直接請這個人慢點說。

* When taking note of a name or important information, repeat each piece of information as the person speaks.

* 記錄一個名字或者重要信息的時候，打電話的人說一句你就重復一句。

This is an especially effective tool. By repeating each important piece of information or each number or letter as the spell or give you a telephone number you automatically slow the speaker down.

這是一個很有效的策略。通過重復每一個重要的信息、每一個數字、每一個字母的時候都會讓說話人的語速自動放慢。

* Do not say you have understood if you have not. Ask the person to repeat until you have understood.

* 如果沒聽懂就別說你懂了。讓這個人重復一下直到你懂了。

Remember that the other person needs to make himself/herself understood and it is in his/her interest to make sure that you have understood. If you ask a person to explain more than twice they will usually slow down.

記住別人需要自己的話被聽懂。確保你能聽懂關系到他或她的利益。如果你請一個人解釋兩次以上，通常這個人會放慢語速。

* If the person does not slow down begin speaking your own language!

* 如果這個人還不放慢語速你就開始說你的母語。（這招狠！）

不過用這招要小心點，這種方法羞辱別人很有效，所以要確定你這么做的對象是你同事而不是你老板！