DEVELOPING PRESENTATION SKILLS: Conference and Seminar Discussion
This section deals with the language of formal meetings. During meetings participants
express ideas and opinions, argue, disagree, interrupt and change their mind. The expressions
given here are suitable for the formal, polite speech of seminars and conferences. Of course,
many of the expressions can also be heard in daily, casual conversation.
Coming into the Discussion
Could I (just) say something about…?
Could I (just) come in at this point …?
Agreeing
Agree : approuver, convenir, consentir
I agree …
I quite agree …
I think you’re absolutely right …
I think the speaker is right in what he says.
You’ve got a very good point there.
I’d go along with you there
on that
I take your point (that…)
Yes, I’d tend to agree with you there
on that
On the whole, I think the speaker’s arguments are fair.
Disagreeing, Doubting, Attacking
I’m afraid I can’t agree with Dr. X on this matter.
point.
I’m not sure that I entirely agree with Dr. X.
I’m afraid I’m not convinced…
By and large, I would accept the speaker’s views, but …
I’m not sure if I would agree with you that…
go along there. on that.
I can see your point, but …
I’m not so sure about that.
I don’t think I’d say that.
Yes, but don’t you think …?
I’d like to reserve judgment on that.
I’d agree with you to a certain extent but …
I was a bit worried about …
I got the feeling that …
Dr. X’s paper was very interesting, but I wonder if she was considered …
isn’t it (also) true to say that…?
Don’t you think that …?
Might it not (also) be true that …?
Isn’t it just possible that…?
Wouldn’t you agree that …?
Would you agree that…?
Answering Doubts and Attacks
That’s an interesting point, but…
Yes, I get your point, but even so…
I see what you mean but, with respect, we refuted that …
Yes, I see that, but I don’t see that point comes onto in …
Yes, I see that but is it relevant?
Relevant: pertinent
Stalling and Hedging
I’m not (quite) sure what you mean.
Could we come back to that?
Could you (would you care to) elaborate on that point.
It remains to be seen whether …
Well, (I must admit) it’s rather difficult to say.
What do other people think about this?
Perhaps we can ask for other people’s views on this?
Asking for Clarification or More Information
I’m sorry, could you say that again?
I’m afraid I didn’t quite get the speaker’s last point. Could she go over it again?
Am I correct in assuming …?
I’m sorry; I don’t quite understand what you mean by …
I’m afraid I’m not very clear about what you mean by…
Giving Clarification or More Information
(Well,) what I’m trying to say is that …
(Well,) the point I’m trying to make is that …
(Well,) I suppose what I’m saying is that …
To put it another way…
Changing your mind
On reflection, I think that Dr. X was perhaps right when he said …
I’d like to withdraw what I said about …
I think I was probably mistaken when I said that …
Asking for Opinion
How do you feel about …?
What do you think of…?
What is your opinion of …?
I was wondering how you felt about …?
I was wondering where you stand on the question of …?
What about …?
Expression Opinion
In my opinion …
It seems to me that …
In my view, …
As far as I can see, …
As far as I’m able to judge, …
Making Suggestions
Do you not think it might be better
more sensible …?
more advisable
Do you not think it would be a good idea to …?
Mightn’t be rather better to …?
What about …?
Anticipating Criticism
Let me lay any possible fears to rest by saying that …
Well, of course, it could be objected that … but …! However …
Now, I’m sure you would want to point out that …
I think we have anticipated some of the possible / potential problems.
