Sunday, 8 June 2014

SPEAKING NOTES.

I´ll be pleased if only one of you find this illuminating (joking).


SPEAKING (REAL WORLD)


EXPLAINING AND PARAPHRASING


Which simply/just/basically means

And what it/this/that means is
What I mean by that is

By which I mean

What I’m trying to say is

Which is to say

To put it simply,

That is to say,

Or to put it another way,

In other words,

i.e

meaning

BEING TACTUFUL



Using past forms (We were planning to go to the cinema tomorrow)

Using modals (It could have been a bit hotter/I´d go for black instead if I were you)

Using vague language (We must all get together some time/ It was sort of interesting in parts/The steak was on the tough side.

Not sounding negative (I think darker colours suit you better/I´ve seen better performances)

Using adverbs of attitude (Quite honestly, I´ve seen better performances/Unfortunately, the steak was…)
CONVERSATIONAL STRATEGIES


Including someone in the conversation (You look dubious, Hope/You´re very quiet, Waldo)

Adding something to the argument (Not to mention…/And of course there´s always…)

Stressing an important point (That´s exactly what I was trying to get at/That´s precisely what I mean)

Encouraging someone to continue (Carry on, Cande. You were saying?/What were you about /going to say?)

Justifying what you say (All I´m saying is…/What I´m trying to say is…)

Getting the conversation back on track (Anyway, assuming you do want promotion…/ To get back to what I was saying about…

Saying you agree with someone (I´m with you on that/I´d go along with that)

Conceding someone is right (You´ve got me there!/Well, I can´t disagree with that)

Disagreeing politely (Oh, I don´t know about that/ Actually, I´m not sure you can say that)

Asking someone to say more about a topic (By intelligence you mean…?/What do you mean when you say intelligence?)
PRESENTING INFORMATION


To make the first point (First of all/Let´s start with/by…)

To refer to a point made earlier (As I said before/To go back to…/To return to something I mentioned earlier…)

To signal a new point (Now I´ll talk about…/Let´s move on to…/Leaving that aside for a moment…)

To summarise what´s been said so far (So to sum up…/Just to recap…)

To signal the last point/bring the talk to an end (In conclusion…/Last but not least…/And finally…)


SOUNDING INTERESTED


To sound interested in what someone is saying: Really? Is that right?

To agree with someone´s opinion: Indeed (not It´s true)

To agree with someone´s opinion: You´re right!

To show strong agreement with someone: Of course! / well of course!

Echo questions (similar to talk questions):

I love snails. Do you? / She hasn´t called me yet. Hasn´t she?

SIGNPOSTING IN AN ANECDOTE


To start the story: I remember once (when)

To continue: So then what happened next is-was/ so the next thing is-was

To finish the story: Anyway, in the end…

INTRODUCING IDEAS AND OPINIONS

Well, to be honest/ To be honest.

The thing is…

It´s like (informal)

All I´m saying is/All I´m trying to say is

What I´m trying to say is…

Of course there´s always (to introduce an idea or make a suggestion)

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FILLERS WHEN TELLING ANECDOTES

Well/You know/Kind of/Like (be careful not too overuse this expressions)
MAKING YOUR POINT IN DISCUSSIONS

I mean
I reckon (informal)
That´s my point
Just because…doesn´t mean.
You´re quite right.






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