USEFUL LANGUAGE TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC

[Advanced reference sheet]

Communicative English, Situations. Pergamon , 1983 Functions of English. Cambridge, 1981 Public Speech, Long Beach City College, 1995 Javier Santos, EOI Valencia

1. STARTING & CONCLUDING A SPEECH or a TALK

The topic of my talk/speech is... I´d like to finish/recap/ conclude/ summarize by... Finally...
The purpose of my presentation is (to familiarize you with…) Let´s go through the main points again,... In brief/ short...
I´d like to start/begin by... I hope that what I have said will... In closing...
First (of all) I´d like to/ I’ll comment briefly on/ talk about... Well, I hope you´ve enjoyed.... In conclusion...
I will divide my talk into X parts Today, I have covered/ talked about... All in all/On the whole
As an introduction to my talk,... Next,.. After that… Finally To conclude/ To sum up/ To wrap it up... On balance
First of all, let us examine/ look at some of the facts Well, Let’s sum up,( shall we)? Let’s summarize briefly what…
Today, I am going to tell you about... Finally, let me remind you of some of the issues we’ve covered
We will examine the problem of... I’ll be happy to answer any questions (when I have finished

2. MAKING YOUR POINT

2.a. Giving an opinion and making a point 2.b. Stating preferences

I think/ believe/ feel/ suppose/ guess... I quite/ rather like the idea of ...
In my view/ In my opinion... From my point of view... I (don´t) quite agree that...
As far as I´m concerned... As I see it,... I´m (very much) in favour of/ against...
I find X (to be) a delicate problem. I'd say that... I'd rather+ Inf. I'd prefer to...
It´s important/ true/ necessary to remember/ point out that... As far as I'm concerned,...
It´s worth remembering that... The point is...

2.c. Comparing: similarities and differences 2.d. Showing the time: anteriority, posteriority
X and Y have (quite) a lot in common.
They share a lot of characteristics/ features. After X, Y... After that/a few days, X Afterward, X
The same as... Different from X and Y are (fairly) similar Before X, Y... Not long/ Soon (after),X Before that...
Far/Much More + Adj. A little bit/ slightly +Adj-er Then Later (on) Next
As ... as ... Not (quite) as ... as ... While X, Y In the mean time, X Meanwhile, X
Both X and Y... Neither X nor Y... Finally At last/ In the end Eventually
Likewise,... In like manner In the same way,...
Similarly,... Unlike X, Y... Equally important...

2.e. Sequencing ideas, facts and data 2.f. Focusing on a different aspect/ point
First (of all) ,… Second(ly) ,… Finally,… Last(ly) ,… Regarding Concerning As regard to As for
To start with,... Then… Next… After that… Later…. Now,... With this in mind… Bearing this in mind…
To finish up… Last, but not least,... Let´s move to… This leads me/ us to…
The first major point/ problem... A second aspect... Moving on now to…

2.g. Adding a new fact/ point 2.h. Showing contrast or changes in ideas
And (then) Moreover,... Besides X, Y But In contrast Al though X, Y
(But) also Furthermore,... In addition (to this) Despite this,... In spite of X, Y Instead of X, Y ...Instead
It´s also important to point out/ stress that... Too However,... X, Whereas Y While X, Y
Another thing is... On top of that,... All the same... (and) yet... Still

2.i. Showing purpose, cause & result , reason& consequence 2.j. Strengthening a point
So/ Therefore,... To/ In order to X. Otherwise, Y. Basically Essentially Undeniably
Because (of) For this reason This is the reason why... Indeed Truly As a matter of fact...
Consequently Accordingly X So that Y X, In case Y In fact We should point out/stress/ highlight

2.k. Showing positive and negative points and features

One advantage/ disadvantage of X is... The biggest advantage/ disadvantage of X is...
One other advantage/disadvantage... One objection to this argument is...
A/Another point in favour/ against X is... A (further) argument in favour of/ against X is...
(On the one hand ... On the other hand The downside of X is…
3. SUPPORTING YOUR POINTS AND IDEAS
3.a. Defining & Analysing a point
Let's consider this in more detail... Where does that lead us?
What does this mean for… ? Translated into real terms,

3.b Defining terms and concepts. Rephrasing ideas 3.c. Giving examples, exceptions and specific cases
This/ that is to say... Let me explain it to you (Take) for example For instance,… As an illustration...
In other words,... To put it in other words,... A (good) example of this can be seen in... Such as...
I mean,... What I mean is... The following are only a few examples of... Including...
Before we start, let us check the meaning of a few words/ terms. You can see this in... In particular... This is the case of
Let´s take a look at some key terms/ concepts. With the exception of... Except(ing)... Apart from...
To illustrate this point… To give you an example…

3.d. Generalizing 3.e. Quotations and Testimonies

On the whole,… In general,… By and large,… As X said/ used to say,... According to X,...
In most cases,… In all/many cases Mostly,… This reminds me of X´s words. This is illustrated by X´s
Apart from X,… As a rule (of thumb) Let me quote X’s words
Broadly speaking,… To a great/ some extent,… I once read an article.../ watched a film about.... It said...

3.f. Providing statistics 3.g. Anecdotes, stories and personal experiences

About/ Over/ Under 25% (percent) of students... In my experience,…
One out of four students... One third of all students... Let me tell you a little anecdote/ story
It is/ has been estimated that... An estimated 50% of... Now, listen (to) what happened to me (once). I was...
Not long ago, There was... It happened once to me...

4. OTHER BASIC CONVERSATION STRATEGIES

4.a. Finishing one aspect/ point/ subject ... 4.b. ... and starting a new point

Well, I've told you about... We've looked at... Now we'll move on to... Turning to...
That's all I have to say about... So much for... Let me turn now to... I'd like now to discuss...
I’d now like to recap. (I explained…) Next... Let's look now at...

4.c. Diversions from the topic & Returning to it 4.d. Checking other people’s understanding
Incidentally,… That reminds me of something (else). Do you see what I mean? Is/ Was it clear enough?
By the way,… To get off the subject a moment... Do you know what it means? Do you follow me?
Anyway,… As I was saying before... Do you see what I´m trying to say? Do you get it?
In any case,… Getting back to what we were talking about

4.e. Referring to a visual, handout, etc.

As you (can) see/ read/ notice in/ at/ on... IN the picture/ photo/ newspaper/ magazine/ handout/ chart...
The following picture/ fragment/... is an example of it. ON page5/ the list/ the back of the piece of paper I gave you
Will you please check/ take a look at section/ paragraph 2? ON the right/ left (-hand side of the picture)...
The picture on your handouts shows/ illustrates this point. AT the top/ bottom of page 5 AT the front/back of the photo

4.f. Gap fillers and hesitation devices

Hesitation is a natural part of using a language. The worst way to hesitate is with silence. It causes
embarrassment and confusion. Hesitation devices give you time to think (to organize your thoughts and decide
how to express them).
Noises: Um, mmm, er, erm. Thhhhe, Toooo, Aaaaa
Phrases: Well, Actually, Anyway, In fact, So, (And) then, The thing is, Sort of, Kind of, How shall I put it
Phrases that involve the listener: You know, You see, (You) know, (You) see what I mean