Clarifying complex ideas:

Right, so what have we got to do?

So, we don’t understand the bit when…

Perhaps she means that…

I wonder…,

What if…

So that suggests that…

Do you think it means…?

Well, I think…

I’m not sure what you mean.

Please could you explain what you are trying to say.

Please tell me more about your idea.

So if that means…surely this must…

Yes and there’s another example...

Do you see what I mean?

OK, but don’t you think…

Right, so we’ve agreed that… So now we need to…

So what we have agreed is…

Introducing supporting

material:

– For example… – For instance… – Consider… – Let’s take the case of…. – This is well-illustrated by… – Evidence of this can be seen in… – One example of this is …

Confirming the evidence:

– So, it is clear that… – What this tells us is… – This points to… – We can assume, therefore, that… – One realises that… – Clearly,… – Obviously,… – There is little doubt, then…

Identifying main points:

Right, we need to agree on the main points.

Would anyone like to suggest…?

Surely one of our main points was…

But surely that was far more important because…

Right, we need to decide exactly what we’re going to do…

Does anyone have any ideas about…?

I think we need to… because…

But don’t you think we need to…?

OK, so we need to decide who is going to do what…

So, we definitely don’t all think that…

Right, who would like to…?

Katie, do you think you could get that done by…?

Let’s run through the main points we’ve agreed on…

Challenging others’ views:

– Don’t you think that…? – Isn’t it true that …? – Isn’t it the case that…? – Couldn’t it be argued that …? – Might some people not think that …?

Exploring:

– I wonder whether/if/why… – If we…then… – How about… – Perhaps we could… – Maybe… – What would happen if…? – What evidence do you have to support that opinion…? – Based on what we know so far…? – What will happen if…? – What will be the consequences of…? – How can you tell…?

Acknowledging, justifying or modifying views: Yes, but don’t you think that …?

I agree with …;

I feel a bit like you, …

Let’s just be clear what Claire is saying here…

Sometimes;

Often;

Not always;

Occasionally;

Yes, that’s right;

Oh, I see

Offering an answer or response: – I think … – In my opinion… –Personally… – Firstly, I believe… –In response to that…

Useful Phrases

for Discussion