How to speak more fluently
This is about phrases you can use to make your spoken English more fluent.
It’s the number one thing people ask me about:
How can I speak English more fluently?
The first thing that you need to do is understand what is currently holding you back. Are you struggling to speak openly and fluently because you are afraid of how you sound in English? Then this post will help you.
But if you are struggling because your past English courses focused more on grammar and correct written language and didn’t really teach you how to speak naturally? Then I have something that will help you.
Discourse markers or ‘filler phrases’ are phrases that connect your ideas, show your attitude, or direct your listener and tell them what they should pay attention to.
They are often made of very simple words but they’re very powerful tools in conversation because they help you be more fluent and express yourself more effectively in English.
Here are a few examples:
A lot of people say she’s a bad leader. In my opinion, she’s OK.
‘I’ve heard he’s leaving the company.’‘Yes, apparently so.’ (This means you think it’s true from what you’ve heard).
She’s our cheerleader, so to speak. She’s always keeping us motivated. (This means she is not really a cheerleader, but she reminds you of one).
I won’t join the meeting. That is to say, I don’t think it’s a good idea that I be part of the discussion. (This is like “I mean”)
He’s not always very good at compromising. At least, that’s my impression.
Mastering these phrases will help you feel more fluent when you’re speaking and make your ideas sound more connected.
PDF List of Discourse Markers and Study Guide
In my PDF, I present 75 of these Discourse Markers, all with full-sentence, natural examples and links to dictionary pages where you can learn more about each page.
It also contains a study guide that tells you step by step how you can learn these phrases and bring them into your active vocabulary.
You can get the guide here:
Enjoy! :)
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