Lesson 17: Expressing your opinion in a meeting


Part 1: Presenting an argument


This skill is especially important in a meeting because you have to express your views about an issue…

Beginning:
· I would like to begin by…
· I would like to make a few remarks concerning…
· I would like to comment on the problem of…
· I would like to mention briefly that…
· There are three points I would like to make…
· The most important point seems to be…

Ordering:
· First of all, we must bear in mind…
· To begin with…
· Firstly…..Secondly…..Thirdly…..Lastly…..

Introducing a new point:
· I would now like to turn briefly to the problem of…
· The next issue I would like to focus on is…
· Turning to …

Adding:
· In addition, …
· As well as …, there is also …
· Not only…, but also…
· Furthermore, …
· Moreover, …

Giving an example:
· Let me give an example …
· Let me give you an example…
· Take for example (the case of)…
· Look at …
· For instance…/For example…
· To illustrate this point, let us consider…


Balancing:
· On one hand …, on the other hand…
· Although…, we mustn’t forget…
· In spite of …, I still think…
· Despite the fact that…, I…

Generalizing:
· On the whole, …
· In general, …
· Generally speaking, …
· By and large, …
· All things considered, …

Stating Preferences:
· I would rather…than…
· I prefer… to…
· I tend to flavor…as opposed to…
· …has an advantage over…in that…
· The main advantage of…is that…

Concluding:
· Let me conclude by saying…
· I would like to conclude by stating that…
· Allow me to conclude by highlighting the fact that…
· In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that…
· I would now like to conclude my comments by reassuring you that we are fully aware of the fact that...
· Most probably …
· It appears to be …
· It is important to mention that...
· As I already indicated …
· In other words, …
· I am most concerned about …
· I should like to repeat once again that …
· I should like to emphasize that …
· I would (just) like to add …
· So all in all I believe that...
· (In) summing up it can be said that …
· Weighing the pros and cons, I come to the conclusion that …


Part 2: Discussion and Opinion

Opinions from the participants in a meeting is extremely important, for sometimes they may point out something that a presenter misses or present a whole new idea…

Asking for opinion:
· What’s your opinion of…?
· What’s your position on…?
· What do you think of…?
· How do you feel about that?
· I would like to hear your views on…?
· Any ideas on that?

Asking for a reaction:
· Could I ask for your reaction to…?
· I was wondering where you stood on this question?
· Where exactly do you stand on this issue?
· I wonder if you would like to comment, ___________?

Giving strong opinion:
· I firmly believe that…
· I’m absolutely convinced…
· It’s my belief that…
· There is no doubt in my mind that…
· It’s quite clear that…
· I’m certain that…
· It’s my considered opinion that…

Giving neutral opinion:
· I think that…
· In my opinion…
· It’s my opinion that…
· As I see it…
· As far as I am concerned…
· From my point of view…

Other ways of stating your opinions:
· It seems to me that …
· I am of the opinion that …/ I take the view that ..
· My personal view is that …
· In my experience …
· As far as I understand / can see, …
· As I see it, … / From my point of view …
· As far as I know … / From what I know …
· I might be wrong but …
· If I am not mistaken …
· I believe one can (safely) say …
· It is claimed that …
· I must admit that …
· I cannot deny that …
· I can imagine that …
· I think/believe/suppose …
· Personally, I think …
· That is why I think …
· I am sure/certain/convinced that …

When you are not sure or when you have mixed opinions:
· I am not sure/certain, but …
· I am not sure, because I don't know the situation exactly.
· I am not convinced that …
· I have read that …
· I am of mixed opinions (about / on) …
· I am of mixed opinions about / on this.
· I have no opinion in this matter.

Outlining Facts
· The fact is that
· The (main) point is that …
· This proves that …
· What it comes down to is that …
· It is obvious that …
· It is certain that …
· One can say that …
· It is clear that …
· There is no doubt that …

Bringing in to answer a question:
· I would like to ask my colleague _____________to give us his/her view on that.
· If I may, I would like to ask my colleague ___________to reply to that.
· I think _________is more qualified than I am to deal with this question.
· I would like to bring in ______________who has studied this matter in more detail than I have.
· Perhaps ______________would care to answer that.

Bringing in to present a point:
· I would like to invite ____________to present his/her views on…
· I would like to call on ___________to present his/her views on…
· _____________, would you care to comment?
· I think ____________would like to make a point.

Summarizing:
· Well, if I could sum up the discussion…
· To summarize, I think we are in agreement on…
· To sum up, there seems to be…
· In short, …
· Briefly, the main points that have been made are…
· Well, at this stage I feel I should summarize the matter as it stands…
· If I may just go over the main points raised so far?


Part 3: Agreeing and Disagreeing

Agreeing:
· I simply must agree with that.
· I am of the same opinion.
· I am of the same opinion as …
· I completely/absolutely agree with …
· I totally agree with you.
· Exactly!
· That's (exactly) the way I feel.
· I have to agree with (name of participant).
· I completely agree.
· I agree entirely with your point of view.
· I’m I total agreement.
· I think we can accept your position on that.

Partial Agreement:
· I would tend to agree with you on that.
· I agree with you on the whole, but it could be said that…
· I agree in principle, but…
· By and large I would accept your views, but…
· Although I agree with most of what you have said, I find it difficult to agree with your point about…

Disagreement:

· There is more to it than that.
· The problem is that …
· I (very much) doubt whether …
· This is in complete contradiction to …
· What is even worse, …
· I am of a different opinion because …
· I cannot share this / that / the view.
· I cannot agree with this idea.
· What I object to is …
· Unlike … I think …
· I totally disagree with you.
· I don’t agree at all.
· You are completely mistaken.
· I disagree entirely.
· Under no circumstances could I agree to that.

Softening phrases to use with disagreement:
· Frankly, …
· With respect, …

Neutral Disagreement:
· I don’t completely agree with you on that
· I really can’t agree with you on that.
· I can’t say that I share your view.
· I’m not totally convinced by your argument.
· I can’t accept your point of view.
· I feel I must disagree.
· I can’t help feeling that…

Softening phrases to use with neutral disagreement:
· I’m afraid…
· I’m sorry…
· With respect…
· I respect your opinion, of course, however, …

Tactful Agreement (similar to partial agreement, only more on the
negative side- below 50% [partial agreement- above 50%]):

· I agree up to a point, but…
· To a certain extent I agree with you, but…
· You have a point there, but…
· I take your point ___________, but have you considered…?


Listening Activity: Listen and answer the followings:

1. What is Lucy and Jeff arguing about?
2. According to Lucy, why was the Miami plan denied?
3. According to Jeff, why was the Miami plan denied?
4. What do they plan in order to settle their different point of views?


Lucy: I don't think this is going to work. This plan calls for the new office to open by July and I think that's too ambitious. I don't see how the groundwork can be done any earlier than September.

Jeff: I understand your concern. I don't want to rush the opening of the new office either. But, as I see it, a lot of the preparations were made last year when we considered opening an office in Miami. Even though the site is different, a lot of the cost projections are the same.

Lucy: That may be, but remember that one of the reasons we scrapped the Miami plan was because the budget was too big.

Jeff: That's not how I saw it. I think the major reason we didn't go ahead with the Miami plan was a problem with timing. But, I know that the budget was a concern, too. As you can see, though, this plan has a lower budget than the Miami plan.

Lucy: I don't agree. If you add in all of the extras, the budget is the same, if not higher. I think we need to go back to the drawing board on this.

Jeff: I have to disagree. This plan is the best we've come up with and is workable.

Lucy: I'm afraid we just don't see eye to eye on this. Let's call a meeting with the rest of the team and see what they think.

Jeff: Okay, let's do that.

Grammar:

Present Continuous Tense:(verb+ing)

1. When we talk about something that is happening at the time of speaking.

Please don’t make so much noise. I’m studying.
‘Where is Peggy?’ ‘She is taking a bath.’

2. When we talk about something that is happening around the time of speaking, but not necessarily exactly at the time of speaking.

Tom and Ann are talking and having coffee in a café. Tom says:’ I am reading an interesting book at the moment. I’ll lend it to you when I have finished it.’

3. When we talk about a period around a present, e.g. today, this week, this season.

You are working hard today.
Mike is not playing baseball this season.

4. When we talk about changing situation.

The population of the world is rising fast.
Is your English getting better?

5. When we talk about what you have already arranged to do, usually for personal arrangements (going to). The sense is future.

Mary is getting married next month.
The Petersons are going to have a party this Sunday.

The Differences between Simple Present Tense & Present Continuous Tense:
















Present Perfect Tense: have/has + past participle (verb+ed or irregular verbs)

1. Give new information or to announce a recent happening.

I have lost my key. Can you help me look for it?
Jenny has gone to Canada.

2. Use with words like ‘never’ or ‘ever’.

Have you ever eaten caviar?
We have never had a car.

3. Use with phrases like ‘This is the first time…’ or It’s the third time…’.

Is this the first time you have been to London?
This is the first time he has driven to mount. Fuji.

4. To say that you have never done something or that you haven’t done something during a period of time that continues up to the present.

I haven’t smoked for three years.
She hasn’t seen her parents since she moved out of the house.

5. Talk about a time that continues up to the present (recent past).

We have met a lot of interesting people in the last few days.
I haven’t seen John lately. Have you?
Have you seen my keys? I can’t find it anywhere.

6. Use with phrases like ‘this morning/ this evening/ today/ this week, etc. (when these periods are not finished at the time of speaking).

I have had five cups of coffee today.
Peter hasn’t studied much this school semester.
I haven’t seen John this morning. Have you?

7. Talk about how much we have done, how many times we have done, or how many things we have done.

Mary has written ten letters today.
John has gone fishing three times this week.


Present Prefect Continuous Tense: (I have been doing)

1. When we talk about an action that begin in the past and has recently stopped or just stopped.

Why are your clothes so dirty? What have you been doing?
You are out of breath. Have you been running?

2. When we say how long something has been happening. This time the action or situation began in the past and is still happening or has just stopped.

I have been watching television since 9am.
How long have you been smoking?
He has been playing hockey since he was eight.

Differences between Present Perfect Tense and Present Perfect Continuous Tense: