IMPROVE YOUR SPEAKING- C2

STARTING YOUR PRESENTATION: AGREEING:

• In my presentation, I intend to speak about... /I aim • Absolutely /Exactly/Sure/Definitely
to discuss… • Quite /Yes, quite/ Quite so (=That’s quite true)
• The subject of my presentation is... • Indeed
• Over the next four minutes I am going to deal with… • I see your point.
• Fair enough (after some negotiation)
STARTING THE NEGOTIATION: • I couldn’t agree more.
• Let’s make a start/Shall we make a start? • You have a point there.
• Let’s (get started), shall we? • You took the words right out of my mouth.
• Let’s get down to business • You can say that again!/ Tell me about it! (informal)

SEQUENCING: DISAGREEING:
• I have to say at the outset /Let me say at the outset • I see your point, but… / I see what you mean, but
(=from the very start) that… • Your point is well taken, but …
• …, which brings me to my next point, which is… • Don’t get me wrong, (but…)
• I beg to differ
I THINK • (I'm afraid) That’s not always the case
• It seems to me (that)… • (I’m afraid) I fail to see the point (of…)
• I have the impression that… • I don’t mean to take issue with you, but
• Personally, • You fail to understand…
• To my mind, • You’re missing the point
• I don’t know about you, but I …
• I feel (strongly) that… LOOKING FOR AGREEMENT:
• I very firmly feel…/I’m a firm believer that… • I’m sure you’ll agree with me that…
• I (strongly) believe that… • Wouldn’t you agree…? /Wouldn’t you say so?
• Speaking from personal experience, • Question tags (Isn’t it, has it…)
• For me personally, • You know what I mean,
• As far as I’m concerned, • I'm just wondering …
• To be (perfectly/absolutely)honest (with you),
• In all honesty, ACCEPTING A SUGGESTION/ADMITTING A POINT:
• To tell you the truth/truth be told, • Fair enough
• That’s a fair/valid point
WHAT DO YOU THINK? • I’ll grant you that/I’ll give you that.
• How do you feel about...? • It’s a definite maybe
• What's your take on...?
• Where do you stand on….? REJECTING A SUGGESTION:
• What are your thoughts on this? • I fail to understand/… is beyond me (=I don’t
• What do you make of that? understand)
• I’m not sure that would work
GENERAL OPINIONS: • To be honest, it’s not really my cup of tea
• It is generally accepted/believed that • To be (perfectly) honest/frank, …
• it is undeniably the case that • Not to put too fine a point on it (=I’m sorry I’m being
• (I think) it’s fair to say that… completely direct and honest)
• It is evident that
• Studies suggest that.../The evidence suggests INTERRUPTING:
that… • Can I (just) interrupt?
• It has been proven that… • Can I just say…? /Can I say something here?

KEEPING YOUR LISTENER ENGAGED: IN GENERAL:

• Rhetorical questions • By and large
• As you very well know, ... • In general terms
• Bear with me: …
GIVING EXAMPLES:
SHOWING THAT YOU ARE FOLLOWING: • By way of an example
• I see • A case in point is…./ … is a case in point
• I see what you mean/I see where you’re going with • Let me give you an example
this • ……………………, to mention but a few.
• Fair enough • Namely, .... and .....

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 CLARIFYING/REPHRASING: SUMMARISING:
• The point I'm trying to make is… • In a nutshell,
• In other words, • To make a long story short,
• Bear with me (be patient with me, for example, while • The bottom line is …
I explain what I mean) • Suffice to say that…/enough for me to say that …
• Obviously, (when you don't really want to go into detail because
• It goes without saying (that)… it is not relevant to the conversation, it would be too
• Needless to say, long, or you don't really know what to say)

ASKING FOR CLARIFICATION: OUTLINING THE CAUSES:

What’s your point? (= What do you mean?) • This is (largely) due to the fact that…
• I consider/believe … to be a crucial factor
HEDGES (to minimise the impact of your request/ • The main reason behind this is
imposition/criticism…): • It’s mainly/mostly down to.../on account of…
• , if I may, • In view of…
• If I may be so bold • Seeing that...
• If I may be so bold as to say so,
• if you don't mind my saying (so), If you don't mind DISCUSSING RESULTS:
me saying/asking • Has a knock-on effect
• Has a(n) (clear) effect/impact
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING: • As a result/On account of
Expressing similarity: • This invariably/undoubtedly leads to …
• Similarly, • This, in turn, will lead to …
• Likewise, • …, which begs the question (of) …
• Both X and Y …
• By the same token, OFFERING SOLUTIONS:
Comparing: • ...would be a satisfactory solution
• While… • ...would be a positive outcome
• …whereas… • A compromise solution would be to…(when both
Contrasting: parties have to give in to reach common ground)
• In contrast, … • Could we all agree that…/Could we both agree
• In (quite) stark contrast, … that…
• Unlike…
• Contrary to x, CONCLUSIONS/REACHING YOUR CONCLUSION:
• As opposed to x, • All things considered,
• On the contrary, • I have tried to argue/to demonstrate that…
• To conclude, …
EMPHASISING: • At the end of the day,
• Let me make this point clear: • All in all,
• The most important factor/aspect is... • Bearing all that in mind, then,
• What is really significant is...
• What is important to remember...
• I'd like to emphasise the fact that...
• I’d like to stress the importance of...

CHANGING THE SUBJECT/DIRECTING THE

CONVERSATION TOWARDS THE TOPIC:
• By the way,
• Speaking of…
• Speaking of which,
• That reminds me of…
• Changing the subject completely
• Back to my original point,
• (But) that's beside the point, (I'm afraid)
• Can I just draw your attention to …
• Can I point you towards…?

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