Stuck in English Conversations? 9 expressions to help you keep speaking!

You're speaking English, you're having a great conversation

and then it happens.

You get stuck.

Now, don't panic.

In this lesson, you'll learn English expressions

that we native speakers use when we're speaking English

and we just don't know what to say next because hey

it happens to all of us.

And if you use them the next time

that you're speaking English

and you get stuck in a conversation

you can relax because you know what to do.

All right, let's go.

Hi, I'm your business English coach Christina

and welcome to Business English with Christina

where you become better at business and better at English.

And if you are serious about speaking better English

I want to invite you

to a five day challenge that is going to happen very soon.

It's you and me, some live sessions, and it's totally free.

You'll get five smart

and surprisingly simple ways to boost your English.

And if you want to join me for that challenge

the link is down below this video.

You might be surprised in this video to see how

many expressions we have for when you get stuck in English.

Why are there so many?

Well, it's like I said, because everybody gets stuck

at some point in a conversation

even in your native language.

You do it, I do it.

And you don't have to wait

until you never get stuck to feel confident

because confidence is knowing what to do when

you do get stuck.

So if you're speaking English and you get stuck

at some point, just take a deep breath and remember

it's okay you got this because you have one

of these nine expressions that you can use.

The first expression, ah, it's on the tip of my tongue.

You know, we all forget words when we're speaking

and that's why we have this great expression.

It's on the tip of my tongue, which is like literally

it's like, it's like right here.

It's like it's just waiting to come out of your mouth

but it's just not quite making it.

So if someone hears you use this expression, then

they will probably help you try to find the word

that you're looking for.

And sometimes you don't know the word that you need

and that's okay.

I mean, it's totally okay.

You can just say it.

Nobody expects you to know every word

in the English language because you are not

a walking dictionary, as we say.

So let, let's imagine you are, I don't know

you're going to present, you're making a big presentation

and you're looking for, you know, the thing to

change your slides.

And you can say this like, yeah, I'm looking for my

I don't know the word for it

but it's the thing that, you know, you click the button

And it changes your slides.

And then probably

either the person will give you the word like, oh yeah

the the clicker.

Or they will know what you're talking

about and help you define the thing.

So it's okay to not have a word.

Yeah. And then sometimes it's like

you know the word, you have the word

but just right there in the moment, you don't have it.

And that's okay.

Again, you can simply say, my mind just went blank.

My mind just went blank.

That's totally okay.

We use this expression all the time.

And sometimes, you know, if you feel

like you're in a conversation

and you know you're talking, you're explaining something

you feel like you're not being very clear.

You can see it on the face of the other person.

They're like, don't stress.

You can simply say, nevermind, it's not important.

And just change the topic.

Totally. This is totally natural

and no one is going to find it strange

that you're changing the topic

in the middle of the conversation.

Just say, nevermind.

It's not important.

So anyway, about your project, for example

and smile, relax, it happens to the best of us.

Now, going back to these techniques, sometimes you're

in a conversation and you are explaining something

but you start your story and then you like

you can't remember where you were going with that story.

And I mean, think about it, it probably happens

to you sometimes in your native language.

It happens to me.

And in this case, you can just say, you know

I don't know where I was going with that.

Or you can also say

I forgot what I was going to say anyway.

And then you change the subject.

Now what about if you're in a conversation

someone says something or asks you a question

and you don't know how to respond.

Now don't panic when someone asks you a question.

Sometimes you have to think about what they just said.

You have to think about what you want to say

and then you've gotta put all of that into words.

And sometimes just having a little more time to

think and not feel like the pressure to respond immediately

that can make all the difference.

And this is why we have a lot of phrases for

asking for more time to think.

You can use one of these.

Let me think about how to answer that.

Let me think about how to explain that.

Hmm, that's a good question.

I mean, what do you think about it?

And I love that last idea, just

because it gives you a lot more time to answer

maybe get a little inspiration

from what the other person says

and also shows that you're interested in their opinion also.

And you know, sometimes I see that people

they go into their conversations in English

and they put so much pressure

on themselves to speak perfectly

to always have the exact vocabulary to not hesitate.

But remember that a conversation, it's not a test

it's not an evaluation of your level.

It's a connection.

It's an exchange with another person.

And it's normal to sometimes to be stuck

and to not find the word that you need.

It's totally normal, it's totally natural

but now you know how you can manage it

so that you can go into any conversation

in English with confidence because you know what to do.

Now, if you would like more strategies

like this to help you feel confident

in English to help you feel

that you can go into any conversation and feel prepared

even when you didn't prepare

then join me for my five day challenge.

It's coming up very soon.

It's totally free, and you're gonna love it.

I'm gonna love it.

We're it's, it's gonna be a lot of fun.

So join me.

You can sign up for your invitation

for the challenge in the link down below this video

and if you don't use it, you lose it.

So here's how you can start to use some

of the things that you learned today.

Tell me about a time in a conversation in English

or in your native language when you forgot a word

or you didn't know what to say.

What did you do?

Did you panic and feel a little nervous?

Or were you totally relaxed

because you know how to handle it?

Either way is fabulous.

Just tell us about what happened in the comments below.

And like I said, if you want to join me

for some live fa, you know, surprisingly simple strategies

and tips for boosting your English

and becoming more confident right now, join me

for this five day challenge coming up very soon.

And you can get your invitation in the link below the video.

And as always, I just want to say thank you very much

for improving your English and improving your business

with business English with Christina

and I'll see you next time.