You're learning with nine to five English business English for the workplace
Hi, Tim here with another 9 to 5 English lesson in
Today's lesson we're going to learn how [to] agree with ideas
Every day in life and work. We have to decide whether we agree or
disagree with other people's ideas
it might be in a serious discussion about who to hire or
how to cut costs or in a simple conversation about where to go for lunch and
when you hear an idea that you like
You want to show your support for it, right?
so you say something to agree with the idea to give it your support and
One good way to do that is to use that word
support, I mean
You can say something like I can support that
There are other ways to say the same thing
for example
you can say something makes a lot of sense which means it is [a] good idea or
you could say that [an] idea could work and
By saying something makes sense or could work
You're not just saying you agree
But that you agree because it's a good idea
How about practicing these expressions for [agreeing]?
We're going to present [some] examples
after each example try repeating it yourself
Ready let's get started
Yes, I think that could work
I can support that
You've brought up a really important point there
That makes a lot of sense to me, too
So we've [just] practiced some simple ways of showing that you agree with an idea
But what if you think an idea is more than just good I mean
what if you think it's a
fantastic idea
Well in that case
You want to agree strongly with the idea and show that you really love it in
English we've got some great expressions for this situation
for example
You can say I couldn't have said it better myself
Which means the person explained it perfectly?
Similarly you can say I couldn't agree with you more
Which means you totally agree?
These expressions beginning with AI are used to show you strongly agree
But you can start with that
meaning the idea and say how great it is for
[example], you could say that's brilliant
or
That's the best idea I've heard all day
Let's practice these expressions
for agreeing
strongly with ideas
Remember to repeat each example after you hear it I?
Couldn't have said it better myself
I couldn't agree with you more
That's Brilliant
That's the best idea I've heard all day
Now we've been focusing on how to show you agree with an idea but sometimes
You hear an idea and you're not [sure] if you agree
I mean, you don't really think it's a good or a bad idea in
This situation you can say that you feel neutral about it
So how can you express [that] feeling?
Well for one you can say that you are not exactly sure about it
That tells people that you might agree or you might disagree, but you don't know yet
Another way to express that you are neutral about an idea is
To say you could go either way, or that there are?
Pros and [cons] to both options
These are useful expressions when you're not sure what you think
or when you don't want to support one side or the other too quickly and
if you really think that two sides of an idea or two choices are
perfectly equal
you can say it's a
toss-Up
This expression comes from tossing [a] coin
Which is a way of choosing between two sides
Now it's your turn to practice using these expressions
once again
You can repeat the example
[after] you hear them
Well, I'm not exactly sure about that yet
I could go either way on this
I think there are pros and cons to both options
To me, it's a toss-up
so we've worked through some great expressions for agreeing and
Showing [that] you feel neutral about an idea, but how does this sound in conversation?
Let's listen to a short dialogue between two [co-workers]
John and Lucas
John is discussing some ideas for the business and
Lucas agrees with him
So I think we need to focus on new customers
yes, that makes a lot of sense to me too and
Maybe we need a fresh ad campaign I
Couldn't agree with you more
Can you hear how lucas showed his agreement with John's ideas?
He said that the idea of focusing on new customers makes a lot of sense
That expression shows basic agreement
Then he agreed
Strongly with the idea of a fresh ad campaign saying he couldn't agree more
Now it's your turn to practice
Will repeat the dialogue, but this time we're going to beep out the second speaker's words
You will have to say those parts yourself
Remember to start by saying that the first idea makes a lot of sense
Then you'll say [that] you couldn't agree more
Here we go
So I think we need [to] focus on new customers
and maybe we need a fresh ad campaign
all right, so we've learned some great ways to agree with other people's ideas and
We've looked at how to show you are neutral about an idea
In our next lesson we'll look at how to disagree with an idea
until then so long and
Happy Learning