LANGUAGE OF DISCUSSIONS STARTING A DISCUSSION So, shall we begin with this? Let's start, shall we? Right. I think we could start with... AGREEING I couldn’t agree more. On the whole, I think your arguments are fair. I (quite) agree. I think you’re absolutely right. That’s a very good point. I fully support what you say. I totally agree. Exactly! True... On the whole, yes. I’d go along with that. Yes, definitely. That’s exactly what I think. DISAGREEING Well, I don't really agree with... So we can't agree about... So we have different opinions about... Yes/Perhaps, but don’t you think that...? I see what you mean, but... I’m afraid I can’t agree with you on this matter. I can’t accept that. By and large, I would accept your views but... I’m afraid I’m not convinced. I know this isn’t really my area, but... I’m not an expert in this, but... I wonder whether there’s another possible explanation... May I suggest another explanation? But all the evidence suggests that... That’s completely wrong. That’s ridiculous/rubbish! (Be careful how you use this. People may feel you are being rude to them!) DOUBT AND RESERVATION Well... maybe... possibly... I’m not so sure about that. I don’t think I’d say that. I can see your point but... I think that’s debatable. I agree to some extent, but... It depends. EXPLAINING IN OTHER WORDS In other words,... That is to say,... To put it another way,... Let me put it another way. The point I’m making is... What I’m suggesting is... No, I didn’t mean that, what I wanted to say was... Sorry, I obviously didn’t make myself clear, what I wanted to say was... Sorry, let me explain it again. MAKING A SUGGESTION Why don't we...? What about...? I think we should talk about... How about changing the topic...? Let’s now talk about... I’d recommend ... INVITING YOUR PARTNERS TO SPEAK What do you think about...? What about you? What's your opinion? What are your views...? Do you have any particular views on...? Could I ask for you view on...? What are your feelings about...? Have you got any comments about...? EXPRESSING YOUR OPINION In my opinion/view, ... From my point of view,... Personally, I think/believe... Actually, I don't think that... I definitely think that... I’m sure that... I’m convinced that... I really do think that... I’m of the opinion that... As I see it,... I think/consider/feel... It seems to me... I’m inclined to think that... I tend to think that... I tend to favour the view that... The way I see it is that... If you ask me, I would say that... HAVING NO OPINION I’m sorry, but I don’t have any definite opinion on that subject. I’m sorry, but I just don’t know enough about it to form an opinion. I’m sorry, but I haven’t had time to form an opinion on that. INTERRUPTING POLITELY Actually, I'd just wanted to say... Sorry to interrupt but ... Could I just say that...? I wonder if I could come in on this. Excuse me, could I just make a point here? Excuse me, could I just say something here? Could I just add something, please? Excuse me, but could I have the chance to say something? (This can be useful if someone is dominating the discussion.) ASKING FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Could you elaborate on that? Could you be a bit more specific? Could you say a bit more about that? Could you expand a little on that idea/theory/example? CLARIFICATION Please let me know if I have misunderstood your arguments, but... Sorry, could you explain what you meant when you said that...? If I understood you correctly,... Is that right? I’m sorry; I didn’t understand/catch what you said about... What you seem to be saying is... Am I right? Sorry, I don’t quite see what you mean. Could you just explain that, please? Sorry, but I’m not quite clear on... What did you mean when you said...? Could you be more specific about...? Am I correct in assuming that...? FOLLOWING UP A QUESTION Perhaps my question was not clear. What I’d like to know is... That’s not really what I was asking. My question is about... Perhaps I didn’t make my question clear. In fact what I asked was... I think you’ve answered a slightly different question. What I would like to know is... I understand that but what I actually had in mind was... Sorry, I’m still not clear about... REPETITION Could you run us through that again? Could you go back to what you were saying about...? I’m afraid I didn’t quite get the last point. Could you go over it again, please? I’m sorry; could you repeat what you said about...? Sorry I missed that. Could you say that again, please? Sorry I didn’t catch that. Could you repeat it, please? Sorry, thinking of what? /you contacted who? /the whole project needs what? ASKING FOR SOURCES/EVIDENCE Excuse me, could you tell us what your sources were? Do you have any other sources/materials to recommend? Where did you get the information on...? What real evidence is there that...? REACHING A DECISION So let's make a decision, shall we? Well, we all seem to agree that...