Small Group Discussion
Discussing Ideas and Opinions
Provided by Assoc.Prof.Dr. Chutima Thamraksa
When you start saying something,
- First of all, I would like to say/state that…
- To begin with, I…
- To start with, I…
- Let’s begin/start with … When you want to ask someone’s
Opinion
- What do you think about…?
- What’s your view about…?
- How do you see the situation?
- Don’t you think that …?
When you want to stress your “personal opinion”
- Personally, I think…
- As far as I am concerned…
- As I see it …
- To me, … When you are “quite sure” of something
- Of course!
- That goes without saying.
- It goes without saying that...
- I maintain that…
When you “agree”
- I entirely/ quite agree with you.
- I agree with this point.
- I am of the same opinion.
- I couldn’t agree more.
- That’s true. When you “don’t agree”
- I differ from/with you entirely.
- I disagree with you. The point is …
- I stick to my opinion. The point is …
- You have the point, but I have a different idea/opinion.
When you want to say the “opposite” of what someone else has just said
- On the contrary, I…
- Quite the contrary, I…
When you want to “add” something
- Also,…
- In addition, …
- Moreover/Furthermore, …
- Apart from that, …
- I just want to add that …
When you “don’t hear or follow” the point
- Pardon.
- I beg your pardon.
- Could you repeat what you’ve just said?
But slower, please.
- Could you slow down a bit?
- I’m not sure if I get the point correctly. You
mean (to say that)… When you want to “ask a question”
- May I interrupt you? I have a question about …
- There arises the question/ point about …
- That brings to the question about…
When it’s time to “end” the discussion
- Our discussion has gone well in a nice way, now let’s summarize the key points.
- Let’s end our discussion here.
- We are running out of time. Let us end the discussion and have a summary of our views.