Reformulating and paraphrasing aloud
Reformulate and paraphrase aloud: clarify your own ideas, check understanding of others, and mediate between speakers.
In this lesson you will
- Reformulate your own ideas when misunderstood
- Paraphrase others to check understanding
- Mediate and summarise between speakers
Learn
Reformulating yourself: Let me put that another way… ; In other words… ; What I’m getting at is… ; To put it more simply…
Checking understanding: So what you’re saying is… ; If I’ve understood correctly… ; Correct me if I’m wrong, but… Paraphrase, don’t repeat word for word.
Mediation (a key C2 skill): explaining one person’s view to another, or bridging viewpoints: I think what Ana means is… ; You both seem to agree that… ; The real difference seems to be…
Summarising discussions: So, to pull the threads together: …
Examples
- What I’m getting at is that cost isn’t the real barrier.
- So if I’ve understood correctly, you’re not against the plan, just the timing?
- I think what Jon means is that the risk is financial, not technical.
- To pull the threads together: we agree on the goal but not the method.
Vocabulary
reformulate
express again in a different way
mediate
help two sides understand each other
get at
mean, suggest
pull the threads together
summarise a discussion
bridge
connect
Practice
Checking understanding:
Speaking
Listen to (or imagine) two people disagreeing about remote work. Mediate: paraphrase each side fairly, identify common ground, and summarise the real difference (two minutes).
Writing
Write a mediation script (150–180 words) in which you help two colleagues who misunderstand each other reach agreement.
Lesson quiz
“Mediate” means…
Review
Key points
- Reformulate yourself.
- Paraphrase to check.
- Mediate between speakers.
- Summarise discussions.
What you learned
- ✓ I reformulate clearly.
- ✓ I check understanding.
- ✓ I mediate between people.