How would I respectfully disagree with a superior?


If my manager says something that I know to be factually incorrect, how can I
point that out without sounding disrespectful? (Is ~違います appropriate in this
context or is that too strong?)

Is this a situation where I would use speech that is more formal than usual?
For example, would I switch to a form of keigo for this even if I normally
have a more informal relationship?




Not a _bona fide_ answer, in that I am not confident enough to provide you
with a reliable example of what you should be saying, but I can definitely
tell you how you should **not** be saying it (despite some suggestions in the
comments to your question):

  * Any sentence that **starts** by a word expressing disagreement.
  * Anything that hints at an actual error made by your boss: "間違っている", "間違い" or, Amaterasu forbid: "違う！" etc.

In fact, the two points above are probably good guidelines for _any_
argumentative discussion with a Japanese person. I know the whole [resolution
by consensus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decision-making) thing is
a bit of a tired cliché about Japanese society, but there is a reason it
became one: you can safely expect Japanese in general, your business
associates in particular, and your boss _most definitely_ , to dislike direct
confrontation even (particularly) when they are factually wrong.

The standard recommended way to handle both a personal or a business
disagreement (there is no such thing as a factual error in Japanese, only
differing viewpoints ;-) is:

  * Start by agreeing wholeheartedly (そうですね etc).
  * Introduce your correction/viewpoint, as if it was some last minute detail you just thought of, that was of no importance whatsoever, or as an _improvement_ , rather than a correction.

Of course, I am drawing very broad strokes here and standard use-your-better-
judgement disclaimer applies, but I think you can't really go wrong with this
approach.




Not a _bona fide_ answer, in that I am not confident enough to provide you
with a reliable example of what you should be saying, but I can definitely
tell you how you should **not** be saying it (despite some suggestions in the
comments to your question):

  * Any sentence that **starts** by a word expressing disagreement.
  * Anything that hints at an actual error made by your boss: "間違っている", "間違い" or, Amaterasu forbid: "違う！" etc.

In fact, the two points above are probably good guidelines for _any_
argumentative discussion with a Japanese person. I know the whole [resolution
by consensus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decision-making) thing is
a bit of a tired cliché about Japanese society, but there is a reason it
became one: you can safely expect Japanese in general, your business
associates in particular, and your boss _most definitely_ , to dislike direct
confrontation even (particularly) when they are factually wrong.

The standard recommended way to handle both a personal or a business
disagreement (there is no such thing as a factual error in Japanese, only
differing viewpoints ;-) is:

  * Start by agreeing wholeheartedly (そうですね etc).
  * Introduce your correction/viewpoint, as if it was some last minute detail you just thought of, that was of no importance whatsoever, or as an _improvement_ , rather than a correction.

Of course, I am drawing very broad strokes here and standard use-your-better-
judgement disclaimer applies, but I think you can't really go wrong with this
approach.

