Dear teacher:

The program has compiled a set of conversation strategies /

useful expressions that our students can resort to for more
effective communication, depending on the topic of discussion.
Please take a look and keep a copy of this great material:

Table of contents:

1. ASKING FOR INFORMATION
2. BREAKIN IN
3. INTERRUPTING GAME
4. GETTING INFORMATION ON THE
PHONE
5. ACTIONS IN ORDER
6. TELLING A STORY
7. LISTING EXCUSES
8. THE MAIN THING
9. THE MAIN PROBLEM
10. A SURPRISING FACT
11. SURPRISING NEWS
12. AN UNPLEASANT THOUGHT
13. THE HIDDEN TRUTH
14. CHANGING THE SUBJECT
15. CURRENT AFFAIRS
16. GUESSING
17. CONVICTION
18. PERSONAL OPINIONS
19. HOW SOMETHING AFFECTS YOU
20. SHARING A CONFIDENCE
21. HOW TO GET THE MONEY
22. OFFERING A SUGGESTION
23. THE GREAT ESCAPE
24. PLAN AN COUNTER PLAN
25. THINKING ABOUT A PROBLEM
26. EMPHASIZING A POINT
27. ADDING THINGS
28. GIVE A REASON
29. HAVE YOU GOT A GOOD
REASON?
30. THINKING AHEAD
31. CORRECTING YOURSELF
32. PUTTING THE RECORD
STRAIGHT
33. POPULAR MISCONCEPTIONS
34. WE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED
35. SAYING NO TACTFULLY
36. DOOR TO DOOR SALESPEOPLE
37. DEMANDING EXPLANATIONS
38. EXPRESSING YOUR
RESERVATIONS
39. TAKING THINGS INTO
CONSIDERATION
40. ARGUMENTS AND COUNTER-
ARGUMENTS
41. SEEING THE GOOD SIDE
42. GENERALIZING
43. EXCEPTIONS.
44. THE GENERALIZATION GAME
45. ILLUSTRATING YOUR POINT
46. WHAT YOU REALLY MEAN
47. FINISH YOUR STORY
48. RIGHT OR WRONG
49. CROWD REACTIONS
50. GETTING TO KNOW SOMEONE
51. CAN I HELP YOU?
52. THE LOVE TEST
53. I HAVENT GOT A CLUE!
54. IT SERVES YOU RIGHT
55. ANALYZE YOU HANDWRITING
56. INKBLOTS
57. BEING SYMPATHETIC
58. THE INTERVIEW
59. SHOWING INTEREST
60. ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME?
61. COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS
62. ACCEPTING A COMPLIMENT









CONVERSATION STRATEGIES
Compiled from Conversation Gambits by Erick Keller and Sylvia T. Warner

1. ASKING FOR INFORMATION
a. Id like to know
b. Im interested in
c. Could you tell me?
d. Do you know?
e. Could you find out?
f. Could you ask?
g. Do you happen to know?

2. BREAKIN IN
a. Excuse me
b. Sorry
c. Excuse me for interrupting, but
d. May I interrupt for a moment?
e. please
f. Certainly

3. INTERRUPTING GAME
a. Sorry, but
b. Excuse me for interrupting, but
c. Can I add here that
d. Id like to comment on that.
e. Can I add something?
f. Can I say something here?
g. Id like to say something, if I may
h. Can I ask a question?
i. May I ask something?
j. To return to the topic
k. Anyway
l. In may case
m. To get back to what I was saying
n. Where was I?

4. GETTING INFORMATION ON THE PHONE
a. Im calling to find out
b. Id like to ask
c. Could you tell me
d. Im calling about
e. I I was wondering if you could tell me
If you go through a switchboard, say first:
f. Id like to talk to somebody about...

5. ACTIONS IN ORDER
a. First of all,
b. Then,
c. Next,
d. After that,
e. Finally
f. Make sure you
g. Be careful not to
h. Remember to
i. Dont forget to

6. TELLING A STORY
a. First,
b. First of all,
c. To begin with,
d. Then,
e. After that,
f. So,
g. So then,
h. At the end,
i. Finally

7. LISTING EXCUSES
a. First of all,
b. The main reason is
c. Secondly
With two:
d. The other reason is
With several:
e. Another reason is
f. Besides that,
g. And on top of that,
h. And finally

8. THE MAIN THING
a. First of all,
b. The main thing is
c. The most important thing is

9. THE MAIN PROBLEM
a. The trouble is
b. The problem is
c. The real problem is
d. The point is
e. The awful/terrible/worst/ thing is
f. Dont forget that

10. A SURPRISING FACT
Start:
a. Do you realize that
b. Belive it or not,
c. You may not believe it, but
d. It may sound strange, but
e. The surprising thing is
f. Surprisingly,
g. Oddly enough,
h. Funnily enough,
End with:
i. Generally
j. By and large
k. As a rule
l. Normally
m. Usually
n. On the whole,

11. SURPRISING NEWS
a. Guess what!
b. Surprise!
c. Ive got news for you!
d. Do you know what!
e. Are you sitting down?
f. Youd better sit down!
g. You wont believe this, but

12. AN UNPLEASANT THOUGHT
a. Actually, the only thing is
b. To tell the truth,
c. To be honest,
d. Frankly,

13. THE HIDDEN TRUTH
a. Frankly, I doubt if
b. Lets face it,
c. The catch is
d. The truth of the matter is
e. The real question is
f. Come on now!
g. Lets be realistic.

14. CHANGING THE SUBJECT
a. Talking of
b. That reminds me
c. By the way,
d. Oh, before I forget,

15. CURRENT AFFAIRS
a. I think
b. I suppose
c. I suspect that
d. Im pretty sure that
e. Im fairly certain that
f. Its my opinion that
g. Im convinced that
h. I wonder if

16. GUESSING
a. Id say
b. Could it be
c. Perhaps its
d. I think its
e. It looks like
f. Its difficult to say, but Id guess

17. CONVICTION
a. I honestly feel that
b. I strongly believe that
c. Im convinced that
d. Without a doubt,
e. Im positive
f. Im absolutely certain that

18. PERSONAL OPINIONS
a. In my opinion,
b. I personally believe
c. I personally think
d. I personally feel
e. Not everyone will agree with me, but
f. To my mind

19. HOW SOMETHING AFFECTS YOU
a. In my opinion,
b. From my point of view,
c. Well, personally,
d. If I had my way,
e. What Im more concerned with is
f. In my case

20. SHARING A CONFIDENCE
a. Ive heard
b. They say
c. Just between you and me,
d. I head on the grapevine
e. This shouldnt be passes around, but
f. Have you heard
g. Maybe I shouldnt say this, but

21. HOW TO GET THE MONEY
a. Why not
b. Why dont you
c. You could always
d. One way would be to
e. Perhaps you could
f. If I were you, Id
g. What abouting
h. Trying

22. OFFERING A SUGGESTION
a. Why dont you
b. Why not
c. Perhaps you could
d. Have you thought about
e. I have an idea
f. Lets

23. THE GREAT ESCAPE
a. Our plan is to
b. Were thinking of
c. What we have in mind is
d. What we plan to do is
e. Ill tell you what well do.
f. What about this for an idea

24. PLAN AN COUNTER PLAN
a. Why dont you
b. You could always
c. If I were you, Id
d. Why not
e. How about
f. Try ing

25. THINKING ABOUT A PROBLEM
a. In a case like this,
b. In a situation like this,
c. In this sort of situation,

26. EMPHASISING A POINT
a. Thats just the point,
b. But the question is
c. But the real questions is
d. This raises the problem of
e. But cant you see

27. ADDING THINGS
a. To start with,
b. And another thing,
c. Whats more,
d. Just a small point,
e. Perhaps I should mention
f. Oh, I almost forgot

28. GIVE A REASON
a. And besides,
b. Also,
c. In addition,
d. Whats more,
e. And another thing,
f. Not to mention the fact that
g. Plus the fact that
h. Not only that, but

29. HAVE YOU GOT A GOOD REASON?
Starting
a. The reason why
b. Because
Continuing
a. Because of that
b. Thats why
c. Thats the reason why
d. For this reason

30. THINKING AHEAD
a. If
b. If I ever
c. When
d. Whenever
e. As soon as
f. By the time
g. Unless

31. CORRECTING YOURSELF
a. What I mean is
b. What I meant was
c. Let me put it another way.
d. What Im saying is
e. What Im trying to say is
f. Dont misunderstanding me,
g. If I said that, I didnt mean to
h. Let me rephrase what I just said.

32. PUTTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
a. Thats not what I said at all.
b. Ive no idea who told you that.
c. Goodness, where did you get that idea from?
d. Im afraid that just isnt true.
e. The fact of the matter is
f. Look, lets get this straight

33. POPULAR MISCONCEPTIONS
Introducing
a. Many people think
b. Some people say
c. Youve probably heard that
d. It may seem
Linking
a. But in fact,
b. But actually,
c. The truth of the matter is

34. WE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED
a. At first glance it looks as if
b. Many people think that
c. We take it for granted that
d. It seems as if
e. It looks like
f. But in fact,
g. In reality,
h. The fact of the matter is
i. But actually,

35. SAYING NO TACTFULLY
Saying no
a. Im not keen on
b. I dont particularly like
c. I cant stand
d. Its not my idea of
e. Id really rather not
A preference
a. Id prefer
b. Id really much rather
c. Id rather

36. DOOR TO DOOR SALESPEOPLE
a. Im not really interested in
b. But Im not worried about
c. Ive got no use for
d. Im perfectly happy with

37. DEMANDING EXPLANATIONS
a. Can you explain why
b. Do you mean to say
c. I dont understand why
d. Why is it that
e. How come
f. Does this mean

38. EXPRESSING YOUR RESERVATIONS
a. Im afraid
b. I dont see how
c. But the problem is
d. Yes, but
e. I doubt
f. Possibly, but
g. Yes, but the problem really is
h. What Im worried about is
i. What bothers me is

39. TAKING THINGS INTO CONSIDERATION
a. Bearing in mind
b. Considering
c. If you remember
d. Allowing for the fact that
e. When you consider that
f. Responding to a compliment
g. Oh; thank you very much
h. Thats very kind of you
i. Do you really think so?

40. ARGUMENTS AND COUNTER-ARGUMENTS
Reservation
a. Yes, but ...
b. Yes, but dont forget
c. That would be grat, except...
d. Thats a good idea
Counter arguments
a. Even so,
b. Even if that is so,
c. That may be so, but...
d. Thats probably true, but ...
e. Possibly, but ...

41. SEEING THE GOOD SIDE
a. On the other hand
b. But then again
c. Look at this way,
d. Anyway,
e. Even so,
f. Ok, but...
g. But in the long run...
h. Very true, but...
i. To make up for it, ...

42. GENERALIZING
a. as a rule
b. Generally
c. Usially,
d. Most of the time
e. Again and again
f. Time and again
g. Every so often
h. From time to time
i. Every now and then

43. EXCEPTIONS.
Generalizing
a. In general,
b. Generally speaking,
c. As a rule,
d. By and large,
e. In my experience
f. In most cases

Exceptions
a. there are exceptions, of course,
b. one exception is...
c. but what about...
d. but dont forget ...

44. THE GENERALIZATION GAME
a. In general
b. Generally speaking
c. As a rule
d. By and large
e. In my experience
f. There are exceptions of course
g. One exception is
h. But what about
i. But dont forget
j. Lets not forget.

45. . ILLUSTRATING YOUR POINT
a. For example,
b. For instance,
c. Take the way (he) ...
d. Take for example
e. For one thing
f. To give an idea
g. Look at the way
h. By way of illustration

46. WHAT YOU REALLY MEAN
Hesitation phrases
b. Well, um ...
c. Well, lets see.
d. Mmm , Ill have to think about that

Re-stating
a. So what youre saying is ...
b. So what youre really saying is ...
c. In other words,
d. If I understand you correclty,
e. So you mean that ...
47. FINISH YOUR STORY
a. So in the end,
b. So, in short,
c. So,
d. All in all
e. To put the whole thing in a nutshell.

48. RIGHT OR WRONG
RIGHT
a. That s right
b. Right
c. OK
d. YES
e. exactly

WRONG
a. No, Im afraid not
b. Not quite
c. You are close
d. I dont know
e. Im not sure.

?????
a. I dont know.
b. Im not sure.

49. CROWD REACTIONS
Agreeing
a. Hear! Hear!
b. Youre absolutely right!
c. You said it!
d. I agree!
e. So do It!
f. Neither can I

Disagreeing
a. Thats just not true!
b. Oh, come on!
c. Rubbish!
d. Dont give us that!

50. GETTING TO KNOW SOMEONE
Agreeing
a. Thats (very) true.
b. I agree with you there.
c. Yes, I know exactly what you mean.

Disagreeing
a. Yes, but dont you think
b. I agree with you, but
c. Yes, but on the other hand
d. I dont see it quite like that.

51. CAN I HELP YOU?
a. Im afraid I dont know.
b. Im afraid I cant decide.
c. Im afraid I cant make up my mind.
d. Ill have to think about it.
e. Im really not sure.
f. I think Ill leave it, thank you.

52. THE LOVE TEST
Strong agreement
a. Of course I would!
b. I certainly would!
Mild agreement
c. I think I would.
d. I might
e. I might consider it.
f. I think so
Indecision
g. I dont know
h. I cant decide
i. I cant make up my mind
j. Im not sure
Mild disagreement
a. Probably not
b. I dont think so.
c. I doubt it
Strong disagreement
a. Never in a million years!
b. Not on your life!
c. Not (even) if you paid me!
d. Not for all the tea in China!

53. I HAVENT A CLUE!
a. Im afraid I dont know
b. Im sorry I dont know
c. I havent a clue
d. I couldnt tell you
e. Im not sure
f. Oh, Its slipped mu mind
g. Ive forgotten
h. Its no good, I cant remember

54. IT SERVES YOU RIGHT
a. It serve you right
b. Its your own fault.
c. What did you expect?
d. Perhaps thatll teach you
55. ANALYZE YOUR HANDWRITING
Agreeing
a. Im not surprised.
b. That doesnt surprise me.
c. Yes, that sounds like me.
d. I KNEW IT!
e. I THOUGHT SO.
f. Just what Ive always thought.
g. Absolutely!
Disagreeing
a. Youre joking!
b. You must be joking!
c. I dont believe it!
d. No, definitely not1
e. Come on!
f. I dont think so.
g. I dont think thats very fair.
h. Are you pulling my leg?
i. Thats news to me!

56. INKBLOTS
When you are surprised
a. Really!
b. Are you joking?
c. Oh
d. Where? Show me.
e. I cant see that,
f. Goodness!
g. What?
When you agree
a. So do I
b. Me too!
c. Thats what I thought too!
d. But thats what I was going to say

57. BEING SYMPATHETIC
Less serious news
a. Oh no!
b. What a pity!
c. What a shame
d. What a nuisance
e. Poor you.
Very sad news
a. How awful!
b. How terrible!
c. Im really sorry to hear that.
d. That mustve been awful!

58. THE INTERVIEW
a. Well, let me see.
b. Well, let me think.
c. Ill have to think about that.
d. Thats a good question.
e. How shall I put it?
f. Lets put it this way
g. The best way I can answer that is
h. Mm, thats a difficult question. Let me see.

59. SHOWING INTEREST
a. Right.
b. OK.
c. Yes?
d. And?
e. Really?
f. And then?
Auxiliaries:
a. Did you?
b. Have you?
c. Are you?
d. Were you?
e. Was it?

60. ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME?
Repetition Gambits
a. Would you mind repeating that?
b. Sorry, I didnt catch the last part.
c. Sorry, youve lost me.
d. Sorry, I dont follow you.
e. What was that again?
Checking Gambits
a. Are you with me?
b. Are you still with me?
c. Is that clear?
d. Ok so far?
e. Have you got it?
f. Do you understand so far?

61. COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS
a. Sorry, what did you say?
b. Sorry?
c. I didnt get the bit about
d. Im sorry I cant hear you. Its a very bad line.
e. Would you mind saying that again.
f. Could you repeat your address, please?
g. Could you spell it, please?

62. ACCEPTING A COMPLIMENT
a. Oh, thank you.
b. Thats very kind of you.
c. Its very kind of you to say that.
d. Do you really think so?
e. Thanks. I needed that.
f. Youve made my day.