Appendix 3. Useful phrases for discussion and composition

John Stuart Mill was a member of British Parliament between 1865 and 1868. He is perhaps most famous for his controversial essay titled ‘On Liberty’, in which he says...

“If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind”.

For those of you who don’t speak ‘politician’, (which is another language entirely, made up of 10% English, 40% media-friendly doublespeak, and 50% waffle), here’s the translation:

“You can have an opinion if you want one”.

So, in a world of people firing out opinions left, right and centre, how do I go about getting mine heard? And here, once again, is a list of useful sentence starters that will immediately convey your attitude, get others to listen, and prepare them for what comes next...

1. Introducing a point

1. First of all I'd like to point out ...

2. Speaking of ...

3. The main problem is ...

4. The question of ...

5. What we have to decide is ...

2. Enumeration of points

1. Above all

2. Another example of this is ...

3. Basically

4. Besides

5. Essentially, the problem is ...

6. First of all, I’d like to say ...

7. Firstly - secondly - finally

8. Furthermore, ...

9. In addition to that ...

10. Let me begin by pointing out - and besides

11. Moreover, ...

12. To begin/start with - next - lastly

13. To top it all

14. What is more

3. Stating something as a fact

1. Everyone knows that ...

2. It is a fact that ...

3. It is generally accepted that ...

4. Nobody will deny that ...

5. There can be no doubt that…

4. Asking for an opinion

1. What do you think about it?

2. What is your opinion?

3. What is your point of view?

4. What is your attitude to this problem?

5. Would you like to say something about it?

5. Expressing a point of view that is generally thought by people

1. It is thought that...

2. It is considered...

3. It is generally accepted that...

4. Some people say that...

6. Expressing a personal opinion

1. As far as I know,

2. As far as I'm concerned…

3. As for me

4. As I see it ...

5. Generally speaking, I think...

6. I am sure that …

7. I believe that…

8. I feel that ...

9. I have the feeling / the impression that …

10. I rather think that …

11. I’d just like to say...

12. I’m quite / absolutely convinced that...(only use this expression to express a very strong opinion)

13. I'd like to point out that…

14. I'd say that…

15. I'd suggest that…

16. If you ask me...

17. In my experience…

18. In my opinion…

19. In my view

20. It seems to me that ...

21. Personally, I believe/suppose/ feel (that) ...

22. Personally, I haven’t the faintest idea about / whether... (starting with this expression may be interpreted as off-hand and could suggest that you have nothing else to say)

23. Personally, I think…

24. Speaking for myself…

25. The way I see it

26. This is a crazy idea, if you ask me.

27. To be quite honest / frank...

28. To my mind...

29. Well, if you ask me ...

30. What I mean is…

31. You can take it from me that …