Oral Skills

DISCUSSION SKILLS
 DISCUSSION SKILLS
 DISCUSSION ETIQUETTE
 THE LANGUAGE OF DISCUSSION

 MINI CASE FOR DISCUSSION

 DISCUSSING A PROBLEM

GIVING SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATION

 PREPARING YOUR PRESENTATION
 USEFUL LANGUAGE FOR YOUR PRESENTATION
 PRACTISING YOUR PRESENTATION
 GIVING YOUR PRESENTATION

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Discussion Skills

Reasons for having a discussion

o It helps you to understand a subject more deeply.

o It improves your ability to think critically.
o It helps in solving a particular problem.
o It helps the group to make a particular decision.
o It gives you the chance to hear other people’ ideas
o It improves your English.
o It increases your confidence in speaking.
o It can change your attitudes.

Strategies for improving discussion skills

Asking questions and joining in discussions are important skills for university study. If you find it
difficult to speak or ask questions in your classes, try the following strategies.

Observe

Attend as many seminars and discussions as possible and notice what other people do. Ask
yourself:

 How do other people make critical comments?

 How do they ask questions?
 How do they disagree with or support arguments?
 What special phrases do they use to show politeness, even when they are voicing disagreement?
 How do they signal to interrupt, ask a question or make a point?

Practice:

A. Start practicing your discussion skills in an informal setting or with a small group. Start with
asking questions of fellow students. Ask them about the course material. Ask for their opinions.
Ask for information or ask for help.

B. Using the following topic about jokes, start the discussion in small group by taking notes about
your own remarks and prepare some questions to ask, or be ready to agree with another
speaker’s remarks.

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Discussion Etiquette
(or minding your manners)

Do:
 speak pleasantly and politely to the group.
 respect the contribution of all speakers.
 remember that a discussion is not an argument. Learn to
disagree politely.
 think about your contribution before you speak. How best
can you answer the question /contribute to the topic?
 try to stick to the discussion topic. Don’t introduce
irrelevant information.
 Be aware of your body language when you are speaking.
 agree with and acknowledge what you find interesting.
Don’t:
 lose your temper. A discussion is not an
argument.
 Shout. Use a moderate tone and medium pitch.
 use too many gestures when you speak.
Gestures like finger pointing and table
thumping can appear aggressive.
 dominate the discussion. Confident speakers
should allow quieter student a chance to
contribute.
 draw too much on personal experience or
anecdote, although some tutors encourage
students to reflect on their own experience

THE LANGUAGE OF DISCUSSION

To help you participate actively in a discussion or a debate in English, a list of useful expressions has been
prepared for various stages in the discussion.

1. Beginning the discussion:

 I’d like to begin by ……….

2. Generalizing:
 On the whole ……………
 In general, ………………

3. Concluding:
 Let me conclude by saying that ………….
 In conclusion, I would like to say again that …………………

Giving or Asking for Opinions:

After mastering the phrases for the main stages in a discussion, here are some other phrases that are useful
when giving your opinions or asking for opinions.

1. Asking for an opinion:

 What is your opinion of …………………?
 What do you think of/about ……………..?

2. Asking for a reaction:

 What do you think (about that)?
 I wonder if you would like to comment, Ida?

3. Giving opinions
 I’m certain that …………………..
 I strongly believe that …………………….
 I think that ……………………………………..

4. Summarizing:
 To summarize, I think we disagree / are in agreement on …………….

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Phrases to express agreement or disagreement which can be strong, partial, or neutral. Even strong
disagreement can be softened by adding a few words.

1. Expressing agreement/disagreement:
 I completely agree.
 I agree in principle, but ………………….
 I don’t agree at all.
 I don’t think you are right.
 I’m afraid I don’t completely agree with you on that.

2. Phrases used to interrupt people:

It is usually not polite to interrupt someone who is talking. However, in a discussion it is acceptable when the
interruption is made at the right moment, i.e., during a pause in what the speaker is saying, when the speaker
hesitates, or when he/she is changing from one subject to another. To interrupt somebody in mid-sentence is
normally impolite.

a. Interrupting:
 Sorry to interrupt, but ……………..
 I don’t want to interrupt, but …………….

b. Commenting:
( A comment is normally short and relevant to what the speaker has just said)
 I wonder if I could comment on that last point?
 Excuse me, but I’d just like to point out that.

c. Coming back to a point:

(Many interruptions are requests for clarification and as soon as you have given the necessary information,
you return to what you were saying by using one of these phrases.)
 As I was saying ………………..
 To return to …………………….

d. Rejecting an interruption:
 Perhaps I could return to that point later on
 If you would be so kind as to let me finish

3. Phrases for requesting clarification, repetition, correcting misunderstandings and asking general
questions.

a. Asking for Confirmation:

 Correct me if I’m wrong, but …………….
 Are you saying that ……………………….

b. Asking for a Repetition:

 I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand what you mean.
 I’m afraid I didn’t quite get your last point. Could you go over it again, please?

c. Correcting Misunderstandings:
 I think you’ve misunderstood me.
 That isn’t quite what I meant.
d. Rephrasing:
 Perhaps I haven’t made myself clear. What I’m trying to say is ……………….
 Let me rephrase that …………………..

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e. Asking for further information:

 Could you elaborate on that?
 Could you give some details about ………………

f. Giving yourself time to think when someone asks a question:

 That’s a very interesting question.
 That’s a difficult question to answer.

g. Saying nothing:
(These phrases are useful to avoid giving an answer.)
 Well, it’s rather difficult to say at present.
 I’m afraid I don’t have enough information to answer that question (right now).

h. Questioning:
(These phrases, again, give you time to think of an answer. You can throw the question back at the speaker
who is obliged to explain what he/she means.)
 I’m not quite sure what you mean by that.
 Sorry. I don’t understand. Could you please restate your question?

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MINI CASE FOR DISCUSSION

Choose one the following cases and discuss it with your group.

Case Study 1: Batik

Lately, wearing batik has been considered the newest style. Batik is promoted by many
Indonesian young designers who design various modern clothes from batik. People from a wide
range of age can be seen wearing it at many occasions, while they used to wear it for formal
occasions only. This is a very positive trend because it increases the sense of nationality and
develops batik industry throughout the country. Nevertheless, it seems that the trend does not affect
the wearer in terms of knowledge. Many people wear batik for the sake of being stylish and up-to-
date, but they still have little knowledge about the story behind the material itself.

In a group of 4, discuss what must be done in order to promote genuine awareness about
Indonesian culture and to motivate people to learn more about batik.

Case Study 2: Laws against giving money to street beggars.

A recent public order bylaw in Jakarta forbids the giving of money to beggars, buskers, car
windscreen cleaners, and street kids, or the buying of food or goods from illegal roadside stalls.
On 10th September 2007, all seven parties represented at the city council agreed on the bylaw,
which is intended to replace a 1988 regulation and is hoped to make Jakarta a more orderly city.
Punishments for transgressions are jail for between 10 and 60 days or fines ranging from 100,000
rupiah ($11) to 20 million rupiah ($2,100).

Jornal Effendi Siahaan of the City Council’s Law section explained that giving money to beggars
only makes such people dependent on random charity in public places and causes them to see
begging as their occupation in life. He is also worried about the existence of beggar syndicates,
whereby the humble beggar becomes a stooge manipulated by more clever and greedy controllers.

What’s more, easy money from begging only encourages the movement of more and more unskilled and
jobless people to the city, causing further social problems.

Meanwhile, according to the Jakarta Post, Yayat Supriatna, a sociologist at Trisakti University,
stated that “the fundamental thing here is that many beggars and street vendors are those who
come from rural areas because they can’t find jobs there and so they are trying their luck here, the
centre of business. In the meantime, the administration is not ready for the massive influx of rural
people, either in terms of policy or providing facilities for such people.”

Yayat said it was peculiar for the administration to complain that it was being burdened by poor
people who made the city filthy when it was the government that was not providing jobs for the
poor. Instead it is the Jakarta people who were doing so because they feel sympathy for beggars
and such people.

You and your friends are high ranking officials of the Department of Social Affairs and have been asked by
the Governor of Jakarta to find the best solution to the problem.

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DISCUSSING A PROBLEM
Some useful language to lead a discussion/meeting:

1. Introducing the subject:

 The purpose of today’s discussion/meeting is ………
 The first matter/problem/issue we have to consider is …………

2. Giving an opportunity for someone else to speak

 Mira, would you like to say something about this?
 What are your views on this, Erna?
 Lusi, do you have anything you want to say about…….?

3. Finishing a point
 Does anyone have anything further to say before we move on to the next point?

4. Directing
 This isn’t really relevant to our discussion. What we’re trying to do is …..
 Could you stick to the subject, please?

5. Keeping order
 We can’t all speak at once. Ben, would you like to speak first?

6. Moving to a vote and voting

 Could we take a vote on this? Those who agree, would you raise our hands? Those against?
 It seems that everyone is in favour.
 The proposal has been rejected by 6 votes to 4.

7. Closing the discussion

 Well, I think that covers everything. Thank you.
 That’s all for today. Thank you.

The Problems to Solve:

The Indonesian government is constitutionally bound to protect freedom of religion and the
right of all people to practice their faith. This includes religious minorities in the country.
However, followers of a sect have been attacked and urged to return to mainstream by the
fundamentalists who do not hesitate to attack their places of worship too. As a result, the sect
followers live in terror and find it difficult to practice their faith. Despite this worrying
condition and the government’s obligation to protect the rights of the people to practice their
religion, the authorities have been halfhearted in coming to the rescue of the victims—let
alone providing sense of security for them.

There is going to be a Talk Show to discuss this problem. Some representatives of the government, the sect,
and the fundamentalists have been invited. Divide these roles among the members of your group. Choose
one to be the moderator.

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