Someone asks you a question and you get stuck. Well, what are the things that you can say
to fill in that silence or to fill in that gap? Do you keep mum? Or do you end up using
gap fillers? Well, in today's lesson we are gonna look at some phrases that would help
you to delay your answers.
Hi everyone. I am Niharika here and welcome back to a new lesson. Well, in today's lesson,
we are gonna look at some phrases that would help you to delay your answers. Now there
are times when people ask you a question or people ask for your opinion and you need these
few seconds to think. Now people tend to keep mum or they tend to say, Ahh, Hmm, so rather
than using these sounds like, Ahh, Hmmm or that awkward silence that the listener has
to face. Well there are some phrases that you can use to fill in those few seconds and
delay your answers. So we are gonna look at these seven phrases here and let's get started.
The very first phrase that I have for you is, well you see. Now here probably someone
comes up to you and asks you a question and you are not very well prepared to answer this,
you need few seconds to think about it and form your sentences correctly and then put
it forward to the listener, so when you thinking this, you need to use the phrase like, Well
you see and then answer the question. Like for example, someone comes up to you and say's
that, Hey are you planning to take up that job? You are not prepared for this question,
so you need those few seconds to answer that, now rather than keeping mum, you will use,
Well you see and try to use high intonation when you use this phrase. So here you’re
buying time to answer the question. Now remember when you use this phrase, you can only take
a pause of two or three seconds and that's about it. Like, well you see. And then just
take a pause of two, three seconds and then immediately start with your answer. You just
can't keep waiting forever. Another phrase that you can use is, Hang on a moment. Now
here you are directly asking the listener to wait, now the wait cannot be like an half
an hour wait, It has to be just couple of seconds, wherein you’re buying time to answer
the question. So you can use this phrase to delay your answer, so someone would come up
and ask you, What have you thought about this new project? So you want to give that answer.
You have something in your mind, but you wanna put it right, you wanna use the right words
to put it forward. So you are buying time and you’re delaying your answer by directly
asking the listener that, Hang on a moment. So take a pause for few seconds and then get
started.
Another phrase that you can use is, How shall I put it? Now there are certain things that
you tend to say that might offend people. Now this happens, when you don't think before
you speak. So it's important for you, when someone asks you maybe a personal question
or maybe a question that you do not like to be asked and you tend to offend people or
you tend to sound very unpleasant. Now if you don't wanna sound unpleasant or you don't
want to offend someone. You buy time by saying, How shall I put it? So here you’re actually
buying time to use the right words that would not offend someone, so use this phrase when
you do not want to offend someone.
Let's have a look at another phrase here, which is, What’s the word for it? You know
there are times, when you are looking for a particular word and it's just not coming.
Ohh! What is it? So what's the word for it? So here again you’re trying to think of
that particular word and when you can't think about it, when it's just not coming into your
head the you can use the phrase, What's the word for it? Rather than just keeping mum
say, What’s the word for it? Now many people, when they are trying to think of that particular
word and it's not coming in their mind. They tend to explain the meaning to the listener
hoping that the listener would come up with that word. You know that happens, Right. When
you’re talking with your friends and someone say's, What do you think about that? And yes
you have a particular word that you can use for this situation, but you can't just think
of it right now. So you’re buying time, now to buy that time you can use the phrase,
What's the word for it And then after few seconds try to explain the meaning of that
word. Even if you’re not getting that word try to explain the meaning of it and then
probably the listener would come up with that word.
So let's move on to another phrase that you can use to delay your answer, which is pretty
similar to the one above, it’s on the tip of my tongue. Does that happen to you? Like
the other day, my friend asked me, Hey Niharika what's that actors name, who has done the
movie Conjuring? And I know his name; it is on the tip of my tongue. But it's just not
coming out of my mouth. When you know, you can't really think of that name, it’s right
on your tongue but it's just not coming out. Well use the phrase, so here again you’re
buying time to think, so rather than keeping mum, you are saying, it’s on the tip of
my tongue, what is it? what is it? Continue your conversation. So that kind of sounds
really nice and you come out as a very confident person as well. So you can use this phrase,
when you just can't think of that word at that moment, but it's there in your mind.
Now let's have a look at another phrase, Now let me think. When do you use this phrase?
You know at times, people come up to you and ask you for your opinion about something,
What do you think about this actor or what do you think about this project? What do you
think about this company? Well, there are so many questions that are bombarded on you
and you’re not very well prepared to answer them. And of course you do not wanna make
a mistake or you don't wanna sound as a very smart person. But yes you wanna show that
you have certain things in mind that you would like to talk about, so again you are using
this phrase to buy sometime to delay your answer. So someone say's, So what do you think
about this project. Do you think it's great? Do you think we should go for it? And here
you wanna buy time to answer this correctly. So you’re gonna say, No let me think again
you are directly asking for some time, so that you think over this and then you answer
it correctly. So even this phrase is quite similar to the one here, which is Hang on
a moment. Hang on a moment and Now let me think are the two phrases that you can use
to buy time directly from the listener. But remember it's just couple of seconds and you
can't ask the listener to wait forever.
And then the last one that I have for you is; Now that's an interesting question. When
do we use that? Now if someone ends up asking you a very personal or a very embarrassing
question and you really don't wanna answer that and you wanna change the topic . Then
you can use this phrase. Now that's an interesting question and then you change the topic, so
when do you use this phrase? Of course to delay your answer and to just buy time to
just change the topic. Like the politicians, the media people tend to ask questions, which
are kind of embarrassing and kind of a little personal, which politicians are not very well
prepared to answer, so they say, Haa... Now that's an interesting question, so here basically
they are buying time not just to delay their answer, but to just change the topic.
So if you face an unpleasant question then use this phrase. So this brings me to the
end of this lesson. These are the seven phrases that you can use to delay your answers. So
the next time someone asks you something or asks for your opinion you would not just go
mum, but you will use these phrases. And I'll be back with a new lesson soon. Till then
you take care.