Use Linking Words for Smooth Transitions When Speaking English
Speak Confident English
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrLfR2lzEkg

Transkript (automatisch erstellt)

0:00 Have you ever felt that heart-stopping panic when someone says, What was that? I lost you or Say that again?
0:09 I'm not following you. It is stressful and frustrating when others can't follow our
0:16 ideas. And yes, of course, it could be distracting background noise,
0:22 making it difficult to hear, or perhaps someone is unfamiliar with a topic,
0:28 but sometimes it's a lack of smooth transitions from one idea to the next. Let me show you what I mean.
0:38 Listen and read these examples. First, Helen walked to the store and bought groceries.
0:45 She went to the bank to pay her bills. She didn't go shopping. There wasn't enough time.
0:52 Compare those sentences to Helen walked to the store and bought some groceries. Then she went to the bank to pay her bills. However,
1:02 she didn't go shopping since there wasn't enough time. What differences do you notice in those groups of sentences?
1:09 Is one easier to understand than the other or does one have more clarity, more flow?
1:16 You may have noticed that I sprinkled in just a few extra words in that second example. I included the words then however,
1:25 and since. These small but mighty words are linking words,
1:32 linking words, also known as sentence transitions or transition words,
1:38 help your sentences to flow smoothly from one to another, allowing for improved clarity.
1:46 When you speak in English, those linking words allow your listeners to easily follow
1:54 you as you transition from one sentence to another and another. In other words,
1:59 they don't get lost in this Confident English lesson. Today, you're going to learn eight ways to use linking words and phrases
2:09 for those smooth, clear transitions when you speak in English, and I'll give you multiple examples so you can use these sentence
2:18 transitions with accuracy and confidence. Before we get started, if you don't already know,
2:37 I'm Annemarie with Speak Confident English. Everything I do is designed to help you get the confidence you want for your
2:44 life and work in English. One way I do that is with my weekly Confident English lessons where I share my
2:51 top fluency and confidence-building strategies as well as tips for how to communicate with clarity in English just like in this lesson today.
3:01 So if you find this lesson helpful to you, make sure that you give it a thumbs up here on YouTube and subscribe to my Speak
3:08 Confident English YouTube channel so you never miss one of my Confident English lessons.
3:13 Before we get into our eight different ways to use linking words, I want to answer two important questions. Number one,
3:21 why are linking words so important and number two, where do you put them in the sentence? So first, why are they so important?
3:30 Linking words create smooth transitions from one sentence to another. In other words, they create a logical flow.
3:39 For example, they help us indicate whether we are making a comparison or identifying
3:45 similarities between two things. They help us show contrast or indicate that we're adding on
3:53 a detail, linking words indicate a sequence and also create
3:58 cohesion. They can draw attention to specific words and bring emphasis
4:05 to what we're saying, and when used regularly, they act as a map helping your listeners follow you as you speak.
4:13 Not only is it important to use them, but we have to know where to put them in the sentence to ensure clarity
4:20 and organization, so whether you're writing or speaking aloud, linking words can be placed at the beginning of a sentence in between
4:30 a sentence or an idea, and at the start of every major point in an argument. For example,
4:38 let's take a look at two sentences to highlight this. At first, the book introduces the history of psychology.
4:46 Later it shifts to contemporary studies and theories. In these two examples,
4:52 we have linking words that come at the beginning of the sentence. They also indicate the start of a new point.
5:00 This helps your listeners follow the flow of ideas and make connections between them. With that in mind,
5:07 let's get to our first use of linking words to reiterate or repeat. From time to time,
5:15 it may be necessary to repeat something that has already been said. We typically do this in an effort to clarify or
5:25 draw attention to or bring emphasis to something that has been said previously. To indicate this, we have multiple linking words and phrases we can use,
5:34 including as I already mentioned, as I've said, to repeat as Sarah said or like Sarah said,
5:45 or simply again, let's look at how we might use these in an example sentence.
5:52 Imagine you're at a meeting discussing your company's social media strategy, and in that meeting,
5:57 a coworker suggests a change in response, you say, As Linny said,
6:04 we should wait for more data before making any major changes to our strategy. The second use of linking words and phrases is to create
6:14 a sequence. A sequence helps us understand the order of events,
6:20 and if you're communicating multiple ideas, it's important for others to understand the timing or the sequence.
6:29 Using linking words effectively not only allows for those smoother transitions, but it also allows your listeners to follow your train of thought and
6:39 understand the timing or the sequence. Common linking words we use for this include first, second,
6:48 third, last, before, beforehand, after, afterward, then, next,
6:57 at the same time, meanwhile and many more, if you want to get additional examples of linking words you can use to
7:06 indicate sequence, I recommend you visit this lesson at the Speak Confident English website where
7:11 I've also included a written portion with more examples than what I've shared here and now.
7:17 Let's consider another scenario so we can see how these would be used in a sentence.
7:22 Think about the last time you made a recipe perhaps for baking a cake or baking some cookies. In sharing that recipe,
7:31 someone very likely used sequencing words to help you understand the order of steps. For example,
7:40 first mix the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs one at a time. Without those transitions,
7:49 it's possible that recipe could go terribly wrong. Our third use of linking words is to express conditions.
7:59 In other words, one thing may only be true or may only occur due to
8:05 another. For example, if you're discussing plans on starting a business, you might say to someone,
8:12 I'm on track to starting my business next year so long as I continue saving money and we don't have a downturn in the economy,
8:21 one thing will only happen so long as another thing occurs or doesn't occur. There's a condition.
8:30 Other linking words and phrases we can use for this include as long as granted or provided that in the event that
8:41 if and then that structure we typically use with conditional sentences and less and now use number four,
8:50 we use linking words to provide support or to illustrate. I'm quite sure you already use quite a few linking words that help you
9:00 provide support. One very common one is, for example or such as these transitions allow
9:09 you to share examples to expand on your ideas or provide support for your particular opinion or idea.
9:19 Additional examples of this include, for instance, in other words, to put it differently, to put it another way,
9:28 that is to say, and namely, if you want a few more examples,
9:34 I recommend visiting this lesson at the Speak Comfort English website. Once again, I've listed several more there in writing.
9:42 As I mentioned earlier in this lesson, linking words allow us to indicate whether we're drawing comparisons or
9:48 highlighting contrasts, and that is exactly what we're going to look at with use. Number five,
9:53 we'll look at a series of linking words and phrases that help bring focus to a comparison or contrast.
10:03 If we want to highlight contrast, here are a few examples of linking words you can use in
10:10 contrast on the contrary, on the one hand and on the other hand even so,
10:18 or even though in spite of unlike, but however, and whereas,
10:26 let's take a look at an example sentence and then we'll talk about linking words we use for comparisons.
10:32 Let's go back to that scenario of being in a meeting where you're discussing your company's social media policy.
10:41 Perhaps you're trying to convince your coworkers to make a change, and in doing so, you might say, On the one hand,
10:49 there are benefits to waiting until we see the data, but on the other hand, the longer we wait,
10:57 the more we risk losing our audience. Now, when we want to address similarities or make comparisons,
11:04 here are several examples of linking words you can use likewise,
11:09 like similarly in comparison in the same manner or in the same way,
11:17 and just as for example, let's say you and your partner are narrowing down your options for a property
11:24 you'd like to purchase. In your conversation, you might say, Just as the first house we looked at is by the water and has great views,
11:34 the last house has the same, It's just a bit cheaper. Our sixth use for linking words is to add on or
11:44 to expand an idea, and once again, I'm quite sure you're using many of these linking words already.
11:51 This list includes in addition to additionally, furthermore, moreover,
11:58 also plus and as well as imagine you're telling a friend all the reasons she should watch your favorite show
12:09 and in order to convince her you want to add on multiple reasons. Here's how you might do that.
12:17 This show focuses on real stories and retail's events in an exciting way, plus the actors are great.
12:25 Our seventh use on this list today is to emphasize or draw attention to something that is important to do that we use
12:34 linking words and phrases such as it's important to realize indeed, in fact, of course,
12:44 in truth, surely and besides. For example, let's say a coworker really needed some help,
12:53 so you have decided to take on some of her workload, but oh, she's feeling kind of bad and guilty, so you want to reassure her.
13:02 In doing that, you might say, Don't worry about any of this besides Kiko will be helping me as well,
13:10 and now use number eight for linking words is to conclude or summarize. When you shared multiple ideas,
13:19 it's always useful to summarize the key points and highlight that final conclusion to help you do that effectively and
13:28 tell your audience precisely what is happening. Let them know that you are now summarizing the key details or you're
13:36 bringing them to the concluding point. You can use these linking words and phrases to summarize
13:44 in brief, in short, in essence, overall and to sum up, these are all useful.
13:52 To help your audience understand that you are going to summarize or restate the key points. For example,
14:00 let's say you're coming to the end of a long presentation and you want to reiterate the key points. You can do that by saying,
14:09 in brief, we can cut carbon emissions by carpooling using
14:15 renewable energy sources and upgrading our homes to be energy efficient. After you've done that,
14:22 you can go on to a clear conclusion and use linking words such as in conclusion, to conclude finally,
14:32 thus, therefore, and as a result, if we were to continue those sentences where you summarized your presentation,
14:42 your final sentence might be to conclude, cutting carbon emissions at home is an easy and small step we should all take.
14:50 Take to finish this lesson on linking words and linking phrases that allow you to speak with clarity and have smooth transitions.
14:59 Let's talk about how you can practice this. I want you to first identify a topic that you feel particularly
15:07 passionate about. It could be something related to politics. It could be a situation happening at work where you have a potential solution
15:15 or an idea you'd like to share. Spend a couple of minutes doing a mind map or writing down the key points
15:23 to your argument or what you might want to share with someone to convince them that you have the right idea. Once you have those key points down,
15:34 try to expand on them, add support. Maybe you've had a past experience or there's something you've read, heard,
15:42 or some data that supports your position. Write that information down as well. Then when you're ready,
15:50 I want you to practice talking about it out loud. Share your thoughts on that political situation,
15:56 Share your idea out loud, and most importantly, record it. While you do that,
16:02 try to sprinkle in some of these linking words to reiterate an important topic or to expand on an idea,
16:11 to add an example or to summarize. Once you've done it, you can stop the recording and then go back and listen to it.
16:20 Pay attention to the linking words that you used and also evaluate. Are there opportunities where you could have used more?
16:29 Following this process is one of the most effective ways you can improve your communication skills and make sure you're using those smooth transitions.
16:39 If you found this lesson helpful to you today, I would love to know. You can always give it a thumbs up here on YouTube and don't forget,
16:47 subscribe to this channel as well so you never miss one of my Confident English lessons. Thank you so much for joining me,
16:54 and I look forward to seeing you next time.