Group Discussion Tips - English Phrases To Sound Professional! Master Group Discussion Techniques
Do you feel like you don't know
what to say in a group discussion?
Maybe you have some really good points,
but you don't know what to say.
You don't know how to start your topic.
You don't know how to agree with
someone or politely disagree with someone or
just clarify what you want to say.
Well, don't worry, you are at the right place.
We are going to talk about phrases.
I will give you some really smart professional phrases
so that you sound professional in group discussions.
Whether you are in an interview, whether you
are in a business meeting or a seminar,
you have to be good at group discussions.
in a group discussion, right?
We have the introduction, for example.
We have to agree with some people
when they are giving us their opinions.
Or sometimes we have to sadly disagree.
On some other occasions, you might have to suggest you
have to give your suggestions, your opinions, and then again,
sometimes you may feel like you haven't understood, in which
case you have to ask for clarification.
Sometimes you might have to interrupt people, although
you have to do it a little politely.
And of course, there are other places
where you have to give general statements
about the topic that you are discussing.
No matter what element of group discussion you are
going to be talking in, we are going to
make sure that you know the right phrases.
As far as introducing your viewpoint is concerned, what do you
say when you want to start off with your topic?
You could say, with due respect, I would like to
put forward the point that okay, so sometimes you have
a viewpoint and you have to put it forward.
That's your opinion and you have to make it known.
But this is a good formal way to start it.
You could also say, good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
I would like to start or begin by saying
that and then go ahead with the topic.
Of course, this is a more traditional, a more
conventional way of starting or giving your viewpoint, but
it's still used formally in many places.
However, I have another one for you.
You could say, I would like to begin
by stating my view of the matter. My view.
word perspective on this matter.
Okay, so these are the different
ways you introduce your viewpoint.
But you know that sometimes you have
to agree with other people, right?
It's not always going to be your way.
You have to agree with somebody else.
So what do you say when you have to do that?
I would say I totally agree with you.
I guess that's the right thing to say
and it sounds really nice and polite.
However, you could also say, as a matter
of fact, you can mention the person's name.
of my friend called Akash, okay?
And he's explaining his viewpoint, and I agree with it.
So I might want to say something like, as
a matter of fact, akash is completely right by
saying that, which means I am agreeing with him.
But I have another one for you.
You could say, I second what Akash just said.
Okay, so you back somebody up,
which means you support them completely.
Okay, that's another way of saying I second
what Akash or my friend Niharika said.
All right, we'll go to the other one, which says,
I have to side with Michelle on this one.
So agreeing basically means that you are taking sides.
You are agreeing with this person,
but maybe not with this person.
So sometimes it's good to state the
person's name that you are agreeing with.
So I have to side with Michelle on this one. Okay.
All right, then let me see if we
can have good polite phrases while disagreeing.
Now, here's the tricky thing, okay?
When it comes to disagreeing with someone, well, you
have to be extra polite, because no one likes
to be told that they are wrong.
And when you are disagreeing with someone,
you are essentially not buying their opinion.
With due respect, I believe it would not be right
to do whatever it is that they have suggested.
Now, this phrase is really important because when
you say, with due respect, it shows that
it implies that you are respecting their opinion,
I wouldn't go with something else.
I would also say something like, I am
afraid I can only partly agree with that.
Now, when you see the word afraid, it
does not mean that you are scared. Okay?
This phrase over here is actually
A softener is basically a phrase that you use
before you disagree with someone to sound polite.
So you say, I'm afraid I
can only partly agree with that.
Yes, partly agreeing with someone is
equal to disagreeing with someone because
you don't completely agree with them.
Or you could say, I personally feel
it wouldn't be okay to do this.
Okay, remember, you are giving your personal opinion.
So when you are disagreeing with
someone, you're just speaking for yourself.
So if you are speaking for yourself, you want to say,
I personally feel that it wouldn't be okay to do this.
Or you could say, though I agree on
the broader point, it seems to me that
and then you give a contradictory opinion. Okay?
So what happens is sometimes you may agree on,
let's say, the main point, but there are some
elements of what is being spoken that you feel
like you're not very comfortable with.
You don't completely agree with that's.
When you want to say that you agree with
one thing, but you do not agree with the
other thing, and that's when you can use this.
You can say, though I agree with you on
the broader point, it somehow seems to me that
this other issue is not quite taken care of. Okay.
All right then let's have a look at what do we
say when we are suggesting or giving our own opinions.
Now here you have to sound very professional.
All of you who are giving interviews, if you
are in the group discussion, make sure that the
phrases I now share with you, you say them
with confidence because your opinion really matters.
So you want to say something like
my honest opinion would be that.
So you have to use the word honest opinion,
which is a way of saying that you have
a strong belief in what you're going to say.
However, you can also say to level up with you, I
think, okay, so level up is a way to say that
based on what you've just said, here is my opinion.
The way I see it, this is another way to say
I personally think or honestly I feel or my perspective is
so when you see something, it is your point of view,
but you can say this, no problem with that.
opinion that this is a lot more formal.
If you compare it with the other ones, you notice
it's a lot more formal and it's also a good
thing to use another one from my perspective.
Or you could say in my perspective, some
people say in my perspective, some people say
from my perspective, both are absolutely correct.
But these phrases, when said with confidence,
definitely show that you firmly believe in
your opinion, and that shows your professionalism.
Let's now have a look at what do you
do when you want to ask for clarification.
Why do you ask for clarification though, when you are
having a group discussion, someone says a certain thing or
someone talks about a certain point and maybe you want
to understand that point more clearly before you decide if
That's when you ask for clarification so that you have
no doubts about what they are saying to you.
I'm sorry, but could you please make
it clearer because you didn't understand, right?
So you want them to make it a little clearer for you.
Could you throw some more light on it?
Throwing some more light is an idiom, which
means can you explain it further so that
I understand it a little bit more?
Because some people are a little vague.
They don't explain things in detail.
And when you want them to explain things
in detail, it basically means that you want
them to throw some light on it.
That's the new idiom for you today.
Or you could say, Please expand your thoughts.
Okay, please expand your thoughts.
Or you could say, Please expand
on your thoughts or your opinions.
Which means give me detailed explanation
A really good phrase you want to use.
You can also say, do you mind explaining that again?
Now, this is a very nice kind way to
ask, because some people don't like to be asked
the same thing over and over again.
But I think if you say this, it sounds very
polite, a nice polite request to ask for clarification.
Some people simply say, Please enlighten me.
This is a little informal, but it's still used in
a formal environment, so go ahead and use these sometimes.
to interrupt people politely, okay?
In a discussion, what happens?
There are many people talking, and you might want
to be very careful that you don't overtake someone.
A professional person never interrupts.
But if you must interrupt, make
So what can you say if you feel like you
are speaking when the other person is saying something?
You can say, sorry to interrupt, but
and then go ahead with your idea.
Or you could say, I would like to add here that
so this is not a really bad way of interrupting. Why?
Because you are actually adding an extra point
to what someone else said, which means you're
actually strengthening what they are saying.
You're strengthening their argument, right?
for interrupting them politely like that.
But if you want to use this, you can use another one.
it okay if I add something here?
Okay, so here you're actually taking permission, you're
being very nice and you're actually asking for
permission to interrupt, which I think is not
Or you could go ahead with saying, if I may
interrupt, I would like to add that again, another very
formal way and a very polite way of interrupting someone.
Do use these if you need to interrupt.
So now I'm going to show you some general phrases which
can be used in any part of the group discussion.
Now let me tell you that general phrases are used
when you want to state certain facts at any point
of the group discussion, because a discussion can only make
meaning if you have some really good facts.
So what are these general phrases?
Let's take a quick look in today's world,
when you start your phrase within today's world,
you're talking about what is happening today?
What is the reality of today's times?
So I could say something like in today's world,
several people or several businesses use social media.
And based off that statement, I'm
going to strengthen my argument.
Okay, let's go to something else we can say as
a matter of fact, when you are stating popular trends,
if you want to make your discussion strong, you want
to really leverage or take the help of popular trends,
popular opinion, or things that are very common.
And that's when you can start your statement by
saying, as a matter of fact, most people who
are healthy are also very mentally swit, right?
So you want to state facts, and this is how you do it.
You could also have another general phrase by saying,
thank you for asking my opinion on it.
Now, a lot of people sometimes
You don't even have to volunteer
If you're an expert at a certain topic, that's when you
can say, hey, thank you for asking my opinion on it.
Which means that you are showing gratitude.
You are saying thank you for them to give
you this chance to showcase your expertise on something.
You can also say, maybe mention the person's name and
say, hey, Akash, what do you think about this?
A lot of times when you are discussing something
in a group meeting, it's very common for us
to want to have other people confirm with us
It's good to always have somebody else support us.
That's when you can use a phrase by saying or
a question by saying, what do you think about this?
This is my point, but what do you think about this?
A good way to get people on your side?
Or you could say as maybe you quote somebody.
Okay, sometimes you want to quote someone very popular as
Albert Einstein, as so and so person once said.
And based off of that quote, you
can actually make a strong argument, right?
So I can say, as the famous author said, reading
is one of the best ways to learning a language.
Well, I am making my point very clear that language
learning is important and you have to do a lot
of reading in order to be good at it. All right?
So these are the different phrases that you
want to use in a group discussion.
If you are in the group discussion, and
no matter what element of the discussion that
you are engaged in, use these phrases, use
them confidently, and you will sound professional. Okay?
Tell me which phrases you are going to use in
your next group discussion, whether it is in an interview,
whether it is in a social setting, or anywhere else.