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Expressing Views in Discussion/Seminars - Coggle Diagram
Expressing Views in Discussion/Seminars
Improving Our Discussion Skills
Prepare
It is important to prepare first before a discussion by understanding the topic fairly well.
We can also do further reading on our own to deepen our understanding.
Listen
Focus on what other speakers are saying during a discussion and try to identify the main ideas.
Keep an open mind; we may have our own opinions but the opinions of others should be respected and listened to.
Participate
We can start participating in a small way, for example by agreeing with someone else's opinion or asking someone for clarification.
We could also prepare a question beforehand and try to ask it during the discussion.
The Benefits of Academic Discussions at University
To enable us to share ideas and insights with other students.
To increase and clarify our knowledge.
To hear the thoughts and ideas of other students.
To improve our ability to think critically.
To increase confidence in speaking.
To improve our English speaking skills.
What Makes an Effective Discussion?
Individual Actions
Prepare for the topic.
Be willing to listen to others.
Support your opinions with evidence.
Allow others to finish without interrupting.
Show your agreement or disagree politely.
Give others a chance to speak.
Group Actions
Set clear aims, so that everyone knows what is the outcome of the discussion.
There is a timetable for different stages of the discussion and a time limit for the discussion itself.
There is time at the end for summing up what has been agreed or decided.
Everyone contributes by saying something.
5 Skills Involve in Discussion
Giving and Asking for Opinions
When giving opinion, support your opinion by giving reasons and evidence such as examples, statistics or information from readings on the topic.
Asking others for their opinions allows other group members to join the discussion and gives them a chance to share their opinions and say whether they agree or disagree with yours.
Agreeing and Disagreeing
When disagreeing with another speaker's argument, we should try to disagree politely by first acknowledging their opinions before saying why we disagree.
Avoid disagreeing too often as it may seem rude.
Clarifying
Making sure we understand about certain topic.
Asking for Clarification
To clarify means to make something clearer, and so the response should help to make the information clearer and easier for the listener to understand.
The speaker is likely to paraphrase the information and give additional details to aid understanding.
Giving Suggestions
In relation to a situation of problem we may need to give suggestions.
Academic language, even in discussions, tends to be fairly tentative, so we may need to express certainty/uncertainty.