1.5: Communication Skills

ESL 111B / 242C: Academic Listening and Speaking · LibreTexts

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    The Power of Paraphrasing and Clarification

    In college classes and workplace meetings, good communication is not about speaking with perfect grammar—it is about getting your point across and making sure everyone understands each other clearly. Paraphrasing means repeating an idea in your own words using simple signal phrases like "In other words..." or "To put it another way...". When you use these phrases, you show others that you are actively listening, checking your understanding, and connecting your ideas to the conversation. By practicing the three-step formula (Paraphrase = Signal Phrase + Synonyms / New Structure + Original Meaning), you will feel more confident speaking in class discussions, working in groups, and avoiding misunderstandings in your daily life and career

    Rephrasing an Idea (Transitions & Clarification)

    • In other words, ...
    • To put it another way, ...
    • Essentially, this means that ...
    • Put simply, ...
    • What this suggests is that ...

    Active Listening & Discussion Phrases (Speaking)

    When participating in class discussions, meetings, or seminars, paraphrasing shows that you are actively listening and helps ensure you understood the speaker correctly before responding.

    Checking for Understanding / Confirming

    • "So, if I understand correctly, you're saying that..."
    • "In other words, your main point is..."
    • "What you mean is..."
    • "Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like..."
    • "So, from your perspective,..."

    Summarizing Someone Else’s Point to Build on It

    • "To piggyback on what [Name] said,..."
    • "Expanding on [Name]’s point that [paraphrase idea], I think..."
    • "As [Name] mentioned earlier,..."

    This page titled 1.5: Communication Skills was last modified on Sat, 26 Sep 2026 19:01:27 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ricky Tjandra.