In this article, you will read about advanced English phrases and expressions you need to navigate various situations in English conversations, such as when you want to interrupt someone or change the topic, and even when you need to end a conversation. I’ll be providing fifty useful phrases to assist you in improving your speaking skills and helping you sustain conversations for longer. So, I hope you’re ready. Let’s get into it!
So, this article is perfect for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to improve their skills in English conversations.
Enhancing Fluency with Conversation Tools
A lot can happen during a conversation. Discussing the topic is crucial, but to speak fluently and with ease, you need to have a range of conversation tools at your disposal. Many shifts and changes can occur during a conversation, depending on who you’re talking to, what’s happening around you, and whether or not you’re interested.
Advanced English Phrases for Controversial Topics
Now, let’s focus on the tools that will help you navigate your conversations easily and naturally. If you make it to the very end of this video, I’ll share some advanced expressions to assist you in discussing controversial topics. These expressions will help you articulate your ideas when you know not everyone will agree, allowing you to prepare them for differing opinions.
If that sounds a little too intense for you, and perhaps you want to start by focusing on simpler conversation strategies—like initiating a conversation with someone—I recommend watching this lesson first.
When you’re asking for other people’s opinions?
So conversations are always two ways, right? That’s what makes a conversation. So as you give your opinion or you share something, it’s always nice to invite the other person’s opinion right? And this is a really important strategy to help you extend your conversations, asking for other people’s opinions. [Advanced English Phrases]
1 Do you agree?
Very basic. It’s quite close to that question, so what about if you opened up that question to get a more interesting answer?
2. What do you think about that?
3. What’s your opinion?
4. how do you feel about it?
If you want to make it a little more polite, you might say.
5. I’d like to hear your thoughts on that….
6. I’m interested to hear your opinion about this.
And more formally, maybe if you were at a meeting at work, you know you might ask
7. Would you like to add anything?
And this is just a nice sort of polite way of inviting other people into the conversation to share their opinion.
So what about what to say when you want to interrupt?
Polite Phrases to interrupt other person
When someone else is talking and you want to interrupt them, well there are ways to do it rudely but of course, there are many ways to do it politely as well. Sometimes you have to interrupt in conversations.
8. Sorry
9. Excuse me (is a little more polite)
and then you can actually lead straight on with your different idea or your opinion there. For Example: Sorry I thought our meeting was on Tuesday next week not Friday.
Now you can informally interrupt someone to add an idea to a conversation by saying
10. Do you mind if I add to that?
11. Can I jump in here? (means can I jump into the conversation)
Right now at this point. If you got something to share then you can share it with more politeness. You might say
12. Sorry to interrupt but I’ve got something to say
13. Sorry for interrupting
Now there’s not a lot of difference between those two. I would just say that “Sorry to interrupt” is probably used more when you’re speaking directly to the person that you’re interrupting and then maybe if you’re stepping into a room full of people talking, a meeting room or something like that, then you might say “Sorry for interrupting, I just needed to share something with you. [Advanced English Phrases]
Now to go even more formal than that, perhaps if you’re working in a hotel and you need to interrupt a customer, you might say
14. Sorry, may I interrupt you for just a moment?
15. If I may interrupt you for a minute, I’d like to share something with you
What to say when… you have gone off-topic
When the other person that you’re talking to has gone off-topic. You’ve got to get your conversation back on track right? So here’s how to do it.
16. So anyway, getting back to my story..
17. As I was saying…
18. Where was I? Ah yes…
You can also combine some of these expressions.
For example: So anyway, where were we? Ah yes… You were talking about…!
What to say when… you want to double-check
What to say when you think you understood but you need to double-check. These are really important expressions to learn, to help you as you’re listening so that you can feel more confident about your answers, you know, when you’re answering someone else’s question, this is just a little check to make sure you’re answering it accurately. So if you didn’t quite hear perfectly, you could say
19. So what you’re asking is… (and then repeat back what you heard)
20. So, what you want to know is… (and then repeat).
21. Do you mean? (and then paraphrase what you heard)
22. In other words, what you’re saying is…
and this is a really natural part of the conversation. Native speakers are not gonna care if you ask them to confirm what they said because it just makes it much easier to continue the conversation, right?
If you’re working in customer service, maybe at a hotel or at a restaurant or something like that then using the verb ‘confirm‘ is a little more formal. You might say
23. “I’d like to confirm what you said …
24. Excuse me, can I just confirm what you said …
What to say to… agree
Naturally, we agree and we disagree with people all of the time right and there are so many different ways to do this in English. Agreeing is pretty simple right, you can just say…
25. Yes! Absolutely! (to say that you agree).
26. I completely agree with you!
27. I couldn’t agree more
28. I couldn’t possibly agree more.
29. I really strongly agree with you.
What to say to… somewhat disagree
Now all of these examples are ways to say that you accept some of the ideas that the other person has shared but you don’t completely agree with them. So you might say…
30. I see what you mean but…” (and then express, you know, a different opinion.
31. I understand your point of view but…
32. I can see where you’re coming from but…
33. I agree with you up to a point, however… I’ve got a different opinion.
What to say when you… disagree completely
34. I don’t feel the same way.
35. Actually, I don’t quite agree or I disagree.
36. I’m afraid I don’t agree with you on that or about that.
Now this is quite an interesting English expression. “I’m afraid” We use it when we’re trying to make a statement more polite not just to say that we’re worried or we’re scared.
Formal expression to express your disagreement
So to be quite formal when you disagree, then try to add a word like ‘respectfully’
37. Respectfully, I have to disagree. [Advanced English Phrases]
What to say to… change the topic
Speaking of changing the topic, what do you say when you want to do that in English? What to say to change the topic?
Now this is useful. You might want to change the topic for a few different reasons. It could be as simple as you’ve run out of things to say about the topic. So instead of ending the conversation, you can simply change the topic and change direction.
38. That reminds me…
39. Speaking about or speaking of that…
If you just want to introduce something completely different. So then you could try
40. Oh, by the way, did I tell you about this?
41. Oh, while I remember…
42. Before I forget I’ve got something I want to say.”
43. This has nothing to do with what we’re talking about but.. I’ve got to share it anyway.
44. I know this is completely changing the topic but… I’ve got to tell you.
What to say… to talk about a controversial topic
Now this is more advanced conversation skills but maybe you want to talk about politics, religion, and social issues. I quite enjoy learning about these topics and having discussions about these things but I know that my views will not always be the same as everyone else’s.
But that doesn’t mean that you need to avoid it, right? You just need a few tools and a few tips to help you keep the conversation open and positive. So when you’re introducing an idea that you feel like not everyone’s going to agree with then you could try saying [Advanced English Phrases]
45. I know not everyone agrees with me.. but this is what I think…
46. I know this is a contentious issue… (And then go in to explain).
47. It might be an unpopular opinion but I strongly believe…
48. I don’t see eye to eye with everyone on this matter, but I think it’s really important to discuss this.
49. Whilst you may not agree with my views, I’m definitely interested in hearing yours.
50. I’m not trying to ruffle anyone’s feathers here. (This is a fun little idiom to say I’m not trying to make anyone upset or angry, you know, I’m just sharing a different opinion.)
Also Read: HOW TO BE GOOD AT ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION
What to say… to end a conversation
So having one of these simple expressions on hand will help you to politely end a conversation and move on. Right, we don’t want to get stuck in a conversation.
51. Well, I’d best be off! It’s been great chatting.
52. Anyway, I’d better get back to it.
53. I’m so glad I ran into you. It’s been great catching up. I’ll see you soon.
Conclusion:
So there you have it! That was over fifty common phrases to help you have more advanced English conversations and help you maintain those conversations even longer. Now all of these tools are ones that native English speakers use all the time in conversations. So listen out for them in movies and podcasts. Try to hear them in context. [Advanced English Phrases]
Now definitely don’t try and learn all of them at once, okay not all fifty phrases at once but definitely choose a couple of them from each category and really start to get familiar with them and how to use them.
Also Read: 15 C1 Vocabulary Words To Sound Smarter