Engaging in group discussions
Group work at university involves group discussions. A group discussion is a conversation about a particular topic/topics where a group of people exchange ideas to achieve a goal.
Why have group discussions at university?
• to give you deeper knowledge on a subject
• to encourage you to share ideas and insights with other students
• to hear the thoughts and ideas of other students
• to challenge and perhaps change your ideas
• to increase and clarify your knowledge
• to improve your ability to think critically
What are some elements of a group discussion?
- Everyone has a voice – each one in the group has a chance to speak and share ideas
- A variety of ideas are presented – a good outcome can be reached if everyone shares their thoughts
- Everyone listens to others and respond in a respectful way
- Discussion is not dominated by one person
- Group may present a variety of perspectives
- Students feel safe to share ideas in a small group situation
- Students know that they are working towards a common purpose
Key things to do in group discussions
- Introduce yourself to each other – a quick brief introduction is very helpful
- Treat everyone with respect – speak politely to the others
- Don’t interrupt someone when they are speaking
- Be open to all ideas – take each one’s contribution seriously• Try to keep your comments short – respect everyone’s time
- Listen well – stay attentive, listen with an open mind to new ideas or ideas different from yours. Effective listeners listen and actively process what others say
- Think about your response before you speak
- Prepare for the discussion – read the materials related to the topic for discussion, carry some notes, discussions are more successful if you prepare well
- Participating in discussions can be difficult for some- start by agreeing with someone, then ask them to expand on their idea, ask a question which you have prepared beforehand.
Useful phrases in group discussions
When you voice your opinion –
• I believe that…
• I think that …
• From what I understand…
• As I understand it…
• In my opinion…
• The way I see it …
• My view is that…
• It is my view that…
• In my view…
When asking for an opinion
• What do you think?
• Do you have anything to say about this?
• What’s your idea?
• How do you feel about that?
• Do you agree?
When you give a reason
• This is due to…
• What I mean by this is…
• Because/Since…
• As a result of…
• As a consequence of …
• Due to the fact…
How to disagree effectively
Try these three steps when disagreeing with another speaker:
1. Acknowledge their thoughts/ ideas
• I take your point, but…
• I accept that but…
• I can see your point – however …
• That’s a good point, but …•
2. Then explain why you disagree
• That’s not always the case because …
• That’s not necessarily true because …
• This idea isn’t supported by statistics/ evidence …
• I thought the author meant that …
3. Offer your opinion complete with reason and support
• From what I’ve read …
• The statistics seem to indicate that …
• I think what (author’s name) may actually be suggesting is …
Phrases and expressions to enable active participation in team-based learning workshops
Advising and persuading
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Why don’t you …. |
I think you should …. |
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My advice would be to …. |
I’m sure you ought to …. |
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Don’t you think it would be better to …. |
You ought to … |
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You should …. |
If I were you, I’d .. |
Agreeing
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I couldn’t agree more. |
On the whole, I think X’s arguments are fair. |
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I (quite; totally) agree. |
I think you’re absolutely right. |
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That’s a very good point. |
I fully support what you say. |
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Exactly! |
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Apologising
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I’m sorry. |
I apologise. |
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I’m sorry to say that …. |
There seems to have been a mistake. I …. |
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I can assure you it won’t happen again. |
Excuse me. |
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I beg your pardon. |
I’m extremely sorry about …. |
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I hope you will excuse me if I have to …. |
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Asking for clarification/more information
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I didn’t understand what you said about . |
I’m sorry, I didn’t catch what you said about . |
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I’m sorry, could you repeat what you said about . |
Sorry, but I’m not quite clear on . |
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I’d like to ask you about . |
I didn’t understand the bit about the … |
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What does . mean? |
I’m not sure what you mean. |
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Could we come back to that? |
Could you explain that again, please? |
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What did you mean when you said .? |
Could you be more specific about .? |
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Could you expand a little bit on what you said about .? |
Could you give an example of .? |
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Could you explain in more detail.? |
So you’re telling me that I can’t .? |
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So what you’re saying is that .? |
So you mean that .? |
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Are you saying that .? |
Am I correct in assuming that .? |
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Let me just make sure – your point is that . |
If I have understood you correctly, your point is that . |
Asking for information
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Excuse me. |
Could you tell me …? |
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Could you tell me how to …? |
Would you mind telling me …? |
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Do you know …? |
What happens if …? |
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Where can I …? |
When can I …? |
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How can I …? |
Something else I’d like to know is …. |
Asking for opinions
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What do you think about …? |
What are you views on …? |
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What do you feel about …? |
What’s your opinion of …? |
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What are your feelings about …? |
Have you got any comments on …? |
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Could I have your reaction to …? |
Do you have any particular views on …? |
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Don’t you agree, …? |
I think X knows more about this than I do. |
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I expect X will agree with me when I say …. |
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Asking for permission
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Can I …? |
May I …? |
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Could I …? |
Could I possibly …? |
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Do you mind if I …? |
Would it be possible for me to …? |
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Would it be all right if I …? |
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Challenging
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Well . maybe . possibly . |
Yes, but don’t you think .? |
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I can see your point, but .. |
I think that’s debatable. |
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Perhaps, but don’t you think that .. |
I see what you mean but .. |
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I agree to some extent, but …. |
I see what you mean, but .. |
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But isn’t it really a question of .. |
But what about .? |
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But surely .? |
But don’t you think that .? |
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I take your point, but .. |
It seems to me …. |
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I tend to think …. |
I don’t think I’d say that. |
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I’m not so sure about that. |
You may be right. |
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But all the evidence suggests that .. |
I’m afraid I can’t agree with . on this matter. |
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I wouldn’t say that. |
I don’t agree at all. |
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I can’t accept that. |
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Changing the subject/moving on
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OK |
Now |
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All right |
I think we’ve finished that item. |
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If we can now turn to …. |
Can we move on to the next point now. |
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I’d like now to move on to .. |
Turning now to.. |
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Moving on now to. |
Having looked at ., I’d now like to consider .. |
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I now want to turn to …. |
The next point is .. |
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Another interesting point is .. |
The next aspect I’d like to consider is . |
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I’d now like to turn to .. |
What do you think about X? |
Checking that people are following
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Is that clear? |
Is everyone following? |
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All right? |
OK? |
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All right so far? |
Are you with me? |
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Do you see what I mean? |
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Checking that you have understood
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So you’re telling me that I can’t .. |
So what you’re saying is that .. |
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So you mean that .. |
Are you saying that .? |
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Am I correct in assuming that .? |
Let me just make sure – your point is that . |
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If I have understood you correctly, your point is that . |
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Controlling the discussion
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Let’s start by looking at …. |
So, I think we have agree that …. |
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Well, I think that covers everything. |
Does anyone disagree with this? |
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Does anyone have any comments or questions? |
So is this the same as your experience? |
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So, Y, what is your opinion of this? |
X, what do you think? |
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Don’t you agree, X? |
Do you agree with what X has just said? |
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Does anyone else have any opinions? |
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Dealing with difficult questions
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. is important but it’s too complex for us to deal with here. |
I think the aim of this task is to focus on X rather than Y |
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It’s too early for us to say whether .. |
We don’t have enough evidence to show that .. |
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That’s not something I’ve had time to deal with, but .. |
I’d prefer to deal with that point later. |
Encouraging
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That’s a good idea. |
Good. |
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Why don’t you …? |
Go on. |
Emphasising a point
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I want to stress …. |
I want to highlight …. |
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I’d like to emphasise …. |
I’d like to put emphasis on …. |
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It’s important to remember that …. |
We should bear in mind that …. |
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Don’t forget that …. |
The crucial point is …. |
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The essential point is …. |
The fundamental point is …. |
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Furthermore, …. |
What’s more, … |
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This supports my argument that, …. |
It follows, therefore, that …. |
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What (in effect) we are saying is …. |
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Evaluating
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That’s a good idea. |
That’s a very good point. |
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That’s exactly what we need. |
You might be right. |
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That’s all very well, but …. |
I’m not so sure about that. |
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Very interesting. How exactly do you propose to ..? |
I can see your point, but …. |
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I don’t see how you can argue that … |
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Exemplification – giving examples
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For example, .. |
For instance, .. |
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And as proof of that, .. |
Remember . |
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You only have to think of .. |
To illustrate my/our point …. |
Following up a question
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That’s not really what I was asking. My question is about .. |
Perhaps I didn’t make my question clear. In fact what I asked was . |
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I think you’ve answered a slightly different question. What I would like to know is . |
I understand that but what I actually had in mind was . |
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Sorry, I’m still not clear about . |
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Giving opinions.
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I definitely think that…. |
I’m sure that…. |
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I’m convinced that…. |
I really do think that…. |
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I’m of the opinion that … |
As I see it, …. |
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I think …. |
I consider …. |
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I feel …. |
Personally, I believe … |
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In my opinion/view, …. |
It seems to me …. |
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I’m inclined to think that … |
I tend to think that …. |
Interrupting politely
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May I …? |
Could I possibly …? |
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Do you mind if I …? |
Would it be possible for me to …? |
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I’m sorry to bother you, but … |
Would it be all right if I …? |
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If I could just come in here. |
Sorry to interrupt, but . |
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I’d just like to say that … |
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Rephrasing
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In other words, |
X |
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What I |
‘m suggesting |
is |
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Let me put it another way |
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Speeding up things
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Can we move on to the next point, please. |
We need to move on quickly, now. |
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The next point is . |
Sorry, that’s all we have time for. |
