Signpost expressions for discussions

A discussion basically involves asking for opinions and expressing personal opinions. Next come some useful phrases you may use for this purpose.

Asking for opinions:

What's your opinion of ...?

What do you think of ...?

How do you feel about ...?

I was wondering what your opinion of (tentative) ... .

What about (informal) ...?

Expressing personal opinions:

In my opinion, ...;

From my point of view, ...;

Personally, I think that ...;

It would seem to me that ... (ten­tative);

As far as I'm able to judge, ... (tentative);

As I see it, ... (direct);

Frankly, I think ... (direct);

I reckon ... .

In the course of a discussion there definitely come moments when some clarification is asked for and given.

Asking for clarification:

I'm sorry I don't quite understand what you mean by ...;

I'm sorry, could you explain what you mean by ...?

I'm afraid, I'm not really very clear about what you mean by ... (tentative);

I'm sorry, but could you possibly explain what you mean by ...? (tentative);

Did you mean that ...?

Do you really think that ...?

Did you say ...?

But you said earlier that ...;

I don't understand what you mean by ...;

What (exactly) do you mean by ...?

Giving clarification:

Well, what I'm trying to say is (that) ...;

The point I'm trying to make is (that) …;

Well, I think/ suppose what I mean is (that) ... (tentative);

What I mean is (that), What I'm saying is (that) ... (both di­rect);

All I'm trying to say is (that) ... (informal);

Well, to be frank …/ Frankly ... (strong, blunt).

If you are asked awkward questions, the following phrases may be useful:

I'd like to think about that one;

Let me see;

The best way I can answer ... .

Another "delaying tactic" is to repeat the question you have been asked.

1 descriptions of the lives of famous people who have just died

2 an article giving the newspaper editor's opinion

3 pages of advertisements in different categories

4 separate magazines included with the newspaper

5 an article or set of articles devoted to a particular topic

6 sections in a paper or magazine that deal with readers' private emotional problems

7 person, typically a woman, who answers letters in the agony column

1 people trying to influence what other people think about a particular issue

2 express their opinions

3 want to reach a wider audience

4 meetings to give information to and answer questions from the press

5 give a formal announcement to the press

6 short memorable sentence or phrase that will be repeated in news bulletins and articles

7 time of year, summer in the UK, when there is not much happening and trivial stories end up on the front page

8 making use of people or organisations which regularly provide news

9 regularly checking

10 space

11 present a story in a particular way

12 collecting scandal (informal and disapproving)

1 Constitutional mandate: The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech and of the press

2 enlightenment: the state of being informed

1 L.C.C.: London County Council

2 detractor: critic

3 sound (here): good

4 pursuit (here): work, activity

5 shutter: the part of a camera which opens to allow light through the lens

6 to snap: to click

7 bulb (here): flashlight

8 to crane one's neck: to stretch one's neck in order to see better

9 glib: quick, easy

10 involuntary: without intention

11 colour bar: discrimination because of colour

12 travesty: parody, farce

13 heat: anger

1 sop: offering intended to pacify

2 conscience: part of your mind that tells you whether something is right or wrong

3 to put someone through their paces: to make someone show how well they can do something

4 vest: a piece of clothing which you wear on the top half of your body underneath a shirt

5 slacks: trousers, esp. casual ones

6 malicious: bad, harmful, spiteful

7 outrage: scandal, shocking event

8 to pass for: to be accepted as something that it is not

9 caption: text under a photograph

10 sleazy: dirty and unkempt

11 uncouth: rough, bad-mannered

12 depravity: moral corruption, sinfulness

13 recess: break

14 to infer (here): to suggest, to imply

15 to soothe: to calm, to quieten

16 twinge: sudden sharp feeling of an emotion

17 voluble: talkative

18 slight (here): attack, insult

19 distressed: upset

1 grist to the mill: support for, useful material

2 to malign somebody: say unpleasant and untrue things about someone

1 Yom Kippur: Jewish holy day (Day of Atonement); Yom Kippur war: war started by the attack of several Arab states on Israel in 1973, at the time of Yom Kippur

1 quod erat demonstrandum (Latin): used to say you have proved what you set out to prove

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