INTERACTIONS 💬 💬
STARTING THE NEGOTIATION
Let's make a start / Shall we make a start/(Perhaps we should) make a start
(Let's get started, shall we?)
EXPRESSING PERSONAL VIEWS (avoid using 'I think')
It seems to me (that)…
I have the impression that…
As I see it,
Personally,
I very firmly feel…/I’m a firm believer that…
I (strongly) believe that…
Speaking from personal experience,
For me personally,
As far as I'm concerned,
I don't know about you, but I , (informal)
…I, for one, (believe…)
To be honest, /to be perfectly honest, /to be (absolutely) honest with you,
To tell you the truth,
EXPRESSING GENERAL OPINIONS
It is generally accepted/believed that…
It is undeniably the case that …
(I think) it's fair to say that…
It is evident that…
Studies suggest that.../The evidence suggests that...
It has been proven that…
I know for a fact that …
MAKING CLAIMS
I know for a fact that…
ASKING FOR THE OTHER SPEAKER'S VIEWS (avoid using 'What do you think?')
Where do you stand on….? [typically, the answer will be "in favour" or "against", or something to that effect]
⚠️ What's your point (=what do you mean?)
SHOW AGREEMENT
Exactly
Sure
I see your point
You've got a point there
You can say that again (=you are absolutely right)
I couldn’t agree more
You’ve hit the nail on the head
You took the words right out of my mouth.
You can say that again! (informal)
Tell me about it (informal)
Fair enough (agree after some negotiation)
SHOW UNDERSTANDING/YOU'RE FOLLOWING THE CONVERSATION
Yeah, I know
I see what you mean /I know what you mean
Tell me about it! (When you've experienced the same situation)
SHOW THAT YOU'VE BEEN CONVINCED BY THE OTHER SPEAKER'S ARGUMENT (OR AGREE TO A CERTAIN EXTENT)
DISAGREEING
I see your point, but… / I see what you mean, but…
Your point is well taken, but …
Don't get me wrong (…), but…
I beg to differ [pronunciation of differ]
(I'm afraid) That’s not always the case
(I'm afraid) I fail to see the point (of…)
I don't mean to take issue with you, but …
You fail to understand …
I don't understand=
I fail to understand
SAYING 'NO'
No, not really (rather than simply 'no!')
Can I say something here?
Can I just interrupt you here for a moment (if I may)?
CHECKING THAT THE OTHER SPEAKER UNDERSTANDS/IS FOLLOWING/GIVING THE FLOOR (=THE RIGHT TO SPEAK)
I'm just wondering …
I’m sure you’ll agree with me that…
Wouldn’t you agree…?
Question tags (Isn’t it, has it…)
, you know what I mean,
REJECTING A SUGGESTION
I don't think so
I’m not sure that would work
To be honest, it’s not really my cup of tea
To be (perfectly) honest/frank, …
Not to put too fine a point on it (=I’m sorry I’m being completely direct and honest)
IN GENERAL- synonyms
By and large
In general terms
GIVING EXAMPLES
Let me give you an example.
……………………, to mention but a few.
Namely, .... and .....
…………………………………, ……………………………………, ………………………………, you name it.
By way of an example
A case in point is…./ … is a case in point
You know,
I mean,
right
I have to say …
EXPRESSING SURPRISE
Did you really?
Is that so?
You never! (When somebody did something totally unexpected in the past)
KEEPING YOUR LISTENER ENGAGED
Rhetorical questions (questions you don’t really expect an answer for, you sort of answer them yourself):
What do I mean by that?
Is smoking dangerous? Of course it is!
As you very well know, ...
Bear with me: …
HEDGES (to minimise the impact of your request/imposition/criticism…)
, if I may,
If I may be so bold
If I may be so bold as to say so,
if you don't mind my saying (so), If you don't mind me saying/asking
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING
Expressing similarity:
Similarly, (Spain played at the top of their game. Similarly, Switzerland showed they are also a terrific team).
Likewise, (Spain played at the top of their game. Likewise, Switzerland showed they are also a terrific team).
Both X and Y … (Both Switzerland and Spain played at the top of their game)
Comparing:
While… (While city life may be more exciting, it may also be more expensive)
…whereas… (City life may be more exciting, whereas town life may be less stressful)
Contrasting:
In contrast, …(City life can be really exciting. In contrast, life in a town or village may be less interesting at times).
In stark contrast, … (Distances between work and home in big cities can become a problem. In stark contrast, in a village you can get from A to B in five minutes)
Unlike… (Unlike in big cities, in a village you usually know all your neighbours)
Contrary to x, (Contrary to what happens in big cities, in a village you usually know all your neighbours)
As opposed to x, (As opposed to life in a village, in a city you don't get to know everyone)
On the contrary, (In a village, most inhabitants know everyone else. On the contrary, in a big city you may not even know your next-door neighbours)
CHANGING THE SUBJECT/REDIRECTING THE CONVERSATION TO THE TOPIC IN HAND
By the way,
Speaking of…
Speaking of which,
That reminds me of…
Back to my original point,
(But) that's beside the point, (I'm afraid)
Can I (just) draw your attention to …
Can I (just) point you towards…?
MENTIONING THE CAUSES
This is (largely) due to the fact that…
I consider/believe … to be a crucial factor
The main reason behind this is
It’s mainly/mostly down to.../on account of…
In view of…
Seeing that...
DISCUSSING RESULTS
Has a knock-on effect
Has a(n) (clear) effect/impact on…
As a result/On account of …
This invariably/undoubtedly leads to ...
This, in turn, will lead to …
…, which begs the question (of) …
OFFERING SOLUTIONS
...would be a satisfactory solution.
...would be a positive outcome.
A compromise solution would be to…(when both parties have to give in to reach common ground)
Could we all agree that…/Could we both agree that…
CLARIFYING/REPHRASING
In other words,
Bear with me (be patient with me, for example, while I explain what I mean)
Obviously
Needless to say
SUMMARISING
The bottom line is …
Suffice to say that…/enough for me to say that … (when you don't really want to go into detail because it is not relevant to the conversation, it would be too long, or you don't really know what to say)
CONCLUSIONS
At the end of the day,
All in all,
Bearing all that in mind, then,