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Being a non-native speaker, I often find myself going blank when communicating or presenting in English. When that happens, I tend to fill the silence with a lot of “urm” and “er.” Well, it’s not a big deal until it is. For instance, imagine you’ll be representing your school; university or company’s project. I’m sure you want the presentation to be clear and smooth, not the other way round, right? If this situation resonates well with you, you’re not alone.

In this post, I’ll be sharing some of helpful phrases you can use when your mind goes blank, especially when speaking in English. These simple and easy to use phrases were gathered from My English Matters‘ podcast on Spotify.

Let’s learn and become better communicators, together!

1. Phrases to use when you forget a word:

• Let me think for a moment
• Hold on. It’s at the tip of my tongue.
• How can I explain this?
• What is the word I am looking for?
• What do you call it again?

2. Phrases to use when somebody asks you a question:

• Gosh, that’s a hard one!
• Got it. I need a moment to pull together my thoughts for you.
• Let me take a moment to collect my thoughts.
• Sorry, I need a minute.
• Would you like a short or long answer?
• So, what you are asking is… (paraphrase question).

3. Phrases to use when somebody asks you to share an opinion:

• I am still thinking about what I want to say.
• Let me take a few seconds to pull together/ collect my thoughts.
• This is what I think.
• I might be wrong, but…
• I am no expert, but…

4. Phrases to use when somebody does not understand you.

• Let me say that again.
• What I really want to say is…
• How shall I put this?
• Let me say that differently.
• Let me rephrase.

5. Phrases to use when somebody challenges or provoke you.

• Do you have anything to add to that?
• I suppose I should also mention that…
• Let me tell you why I said this.
• You are partly right, but…
• I acknowledge your point of view, however, I also need to point out that…
• Don’t you think that maybe there is another way to think about it?

Pro tip: You can mention on the person’s name in any of these phrases. This helps if the person who does not agree with you seems hostile.

Example:
Peter a.k.a your boss: What are you good at, huh?
You: I am so glad you asked me that, Peter. 

I hope these phrases help you when your mind goes blank every time you speak English especially during a normal conversation or presentation. Now that you have read this far, so tell me which phrase you would like to use in future? Or, you used it without you knowing it! Let me know in the comment.