As we learn English, we may feel that we are being polite, but the words or intonation we use says otherwise. Politeness is a big factor in asking for help in English and if you don’t do it right, you may find that no one wants to give you a hand. In many languages, asking for help is a lot more direct and the way you say something really isn’t taken into account. But being polite in English is one skill that is very important to master, especially if you want to live, work or study abroad. See below for some ways to sound more polite when asking for help.
I want help.
Spell that please.
Can you carry my bag?
Pass me the pencil.
All of the phrases above are asking for some form of help. The main problem is that they are all too direct. So how can we make them sound more polite?