Discussion Skills

A group discussion takes place when two or more people communicate to achieve a specific
purpose. It is a two-way process in which we express our ideas and opinions so that others
understand us, and we also listen to others to understand their ideas and opinions. The
following skills are necessary for effective discussions to take place.

1. Giving Opinions

If you want to participate effectively in a discussion, you will need to make your ideas clear.
This means you will have to voice (or give) your opinion. This alone will not be enough, as
you will also need to support your opinion by giving reasons and evidence such as examples,
statistics, or information from readings on the topic. If you have actual data or expert
opinions to use during the discussion, you should refer to the source if you can.

Phrases for giving opinions

 I think (that)...
 I believe (that)...
 I feel (that)...
 It seems to me (that)...
 My view is (that)...
 It is my view (that)...
 In my view...
 In my opinion...
 As far as I’m concerned...
 I would say (that)...
 For me, ...
 As I understand it...
 From what I understand...

Phrases for giving reasons

 This is due to...

 Because/Since...
 Due to the fact that...
 As a result of...
 As a consequence of...

Phrases for giving evidence

 For instance...
 For example...
 (Author's name) states that...
 Statistics from (source) indicate...
 https://www.eapfoundation.com/speaking/discussions/opinions/

Activity 1

My Two Cents [can be modified to suit online class]

Skill Focus: Stating an opinion and justifying it

Procedure:
The teacher will let a student choose a statement from a list of statements OR teacher assigns
one statement to the student. The student begins the game by reading the statement and
giving his opinion about it (with a reason) to the next student. That student must then state a
different opinion to the person to the right of him or her (with reason). Continue until
everyone has had an opportunity to “give their two cents.
Adapted: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/presenting-opinions/

Statements

1. Celebrities earn too much money

2. Google makes me smarter
3. It is impossible to have a happy family life and a successful career
4. Arriving late to meet friends is rude.
5. We shouldn’t allow children to eat fast food
6. Teachers give too much homework.
7. Making mistakes in English is OK as long as people understand you.
8. Real human communication is getting worse because of the Internet.
9. studengts should have 3-day weekends.
10. Cats make good pets.

2. Taking Turns

A very important skill in a discussion is efficient turn-taking. We need to know how to take
turns at speaking, and to give others an opportunity to speak as well. When the discussion is
taking place, we should wait for the other person to finish talking first, and not interrupt
him/her. An interruption at the wrong moment can sound rude. When you wish to speak
next, you may use the following phrases:

 Could I say something here?

 I’d like to say something here.
 May I add something to what you have just said?
There may be times when you have missed what has just been said, or you did not understand
what the other person was saying. In this case, you may need to interrupt to ask for
clarification. The following phrases can be used in such a situation:

 Sorry to interrupt, but I didn’t quite catch your last point

 Excuse me for interrupting, but…
 sorry, could you explain what you mean by…?

To continue again after the interruption, you may say:

 As I was saying…
 Going back to what I was saying,
 Shall I carry on?

3. Responding to the Opinions of Others

For an active discussion to take place, we need to listen and respond to the opinions of others.
In a discussion, we will hear different opinions being expressed. We will probably agree
with some and disagree with others. So, we need to indicate our stand. If you do not agree,
you should try to disagree politely, by first acknowledging their opinion before saying why
you disagree.

Phrases for agreeing

 Yes.
 Yes, that’s right.
 Yes, I agree with you.
 I agree (with/that)...
 That’s what I think too.
 Absolutely.
 Yes, absolutely.

Phrases for acknowledging

 Yes, OK, but...

 I see what you mean, but...
 I accept that, but...
 That may be true, but...
 Phrases for disagreeing

 No, I don’t really agree.

 I don’t really agree with you.
 (I’m afraid) I don’t think that’s right.
 I’m not sure that’s right.
 I wouldn’t say that.
 I'm not so sure about that.
 But (surely)...
 But don’t you think...
 That's not always the case because...
 That's not necessarily true because...

Sometimes, you may be neutral, and may say:

 I’m in two mnds about it because

 I can see both sides of the argument

4. Asking for clarification

In a discussion you will need to listen to many different speakers and try to follow what they
say. This is not always easy, and there may be times when you get confused or lost. In such
instances, it can be useful to ask the speaker a question or ask for clarification. The speaker is
likely to paraphrase the information and give additional detail to aid understanding. By
asking questions, you are able to make appropriate responses.
In addition to asking for clarification, you may wish to ask questions to check your
understanding. In order to do this, you will have to repeat or paraphrase what the speaker has
just said. If you think you understand this is a definitely more useful approach than asking for
clarification, as the speaker can just respond 'Yes' if you are correct, or correct any
misunderstandings you have.

Once you have asked for clarification or checked for understanding, it is useful to respond to
show whether you now understand or not, so that the speaker can either continue or provide
more explanation.

Phrases for asking questions

 I have a question.
 I’ve got a question about...
 Could I ask a question?
 Sorry, could I just ask...?

Phrases for asking for clarification

 Sorry, I didn’t understand what you said about...

 I didn’t quite understand what you meant about/by...
 What did you mean about/by...?
 Could you explain...?
 Could you tell me more about...?
 I didn’t quite follow that. Could you explain again?
Phrases for checking understanding

 So what you're saying is that...?

 So you mean that...?
 Are you saying that...?
 If I have understood you correctly, your point is that...?

Phrases for responding

 Yes, I see.
 Yes, that’s clear now.
 OK, thanks.
 That’s fine now.
 Sorry, I still don't understand.
 I'm sorry, but could you explain that one more time?

Phrases for commenting

 That's interesting.
 I never thought about it that way before.
 Good point!
 I get your point.
5. Encouraging participation

To encourage participation among group members, the following phrases may be useful:

Phrases for asking for clarification

Does anyone have anything to add?

So, who would like to comment on what [name] said?
What do you think of [name’s] point?
[Name], what do you think?

Activity 2

Lost at Sea

There has been a boating accident. You and the people in your group are trapped on an
island in the South Pacific. No one knows when help will come. your job is to survive!
Your group must now choose the things that will help you survive on the island until help
comes. choose the eight most important things from this list.

 a flashlight  an ice hockey skate

 a box of salt  a tube of sun cream
 20m of thick canvas  a large teddy bear
 2kg of gummy bears  a book about tropical plants
 a mirror  a metal bowl
 a bottle of antiseptic spray  25m of rope
 a knife, a fork and a spoon set  a magnifying glass
 a box of matches  10 old newspaper
 a shovel  a large blanket
 a sewing kit