Be More Expressive in English Conversations | Reaction Words & Interjections

I feel like I lose my personality in English. That's what Beatrice,

one of my students recently told me in a lesson.

She's a brilliant executive who works in English every single day,

but as we continued talking,

she admitted something that might sound familiar to you. She said in Spanish,

I am expressive and funny, but in English,

I just nod and smile. I am Annemarie,

your English confidence and fluency coach.

And if you've ever felt like Beatrice, you are absolutely not alone.

Let me ask you this.

Do you ever feel unsure of how to show that you're

listening in English conversations?

Does your silence sometimes make others think that you're uninterested?

Do you freeze when you need to react to surprising news or do you hold back your

emotions like excitement or frustration?

If you said yes to any of those questions today,

I'm sharing this secret that can transform how you express yourself in

English conversations.

The key is reaction words or what we call interjections.

In this lesson today,

you're going to learn exactly what reaction words are and why they're essential.

You're also going to learn how to use them in natural conversations with real

life examples.

I'm going to share with you 37 must know reaction words.

By the end,

you'll be ready to start using them confidently in your English conversations.

So what exactly are these reaction words?

I want you to think of them as the emojis of spoken English.

Just like you might use a smiley face or a shocked face in your text messages.

These small sounds and words add emotion.

They add expressiveness to your speaking. Let me show you what I mean.

You might hear someone say, ow when something hurts,

or whew. When you feel relieved, you might say,

oh, when you're frustrated, and yay, when you're excited.

These tiny sounds are powerful because they don't follow

grammar rules.

They simply express how you feel and you hear them everywhere

in casual conversations, formal discussions in TV shows,

on social media. You hear them everywhere in daily life.

Let me go a step further and demonstrate three ways we use them.

First, we can use them at the beginning of a sentence. For example, oh,

I can't believe I forgot my wallet. We can use them in the middle of a sentence.

This pizza is mm, delicious,

and we can use them at the end. We finally finished this project,

woo-hoo to solidify why these reaction words matter so much.

I want you to listen to the next two.

Sentences. Number one, I can't wait for the weekend. And number two,

oh, I can't wait for the weekend. Did you hear the difference?

The first one just tells us that you're waiting.

The second one tells us you're really feeling that long week.

So to get started, let's begin with something fun.

Positive reaction words.

These are perfect for showing warmth and enthusiasm in your conversations.

I love teaching them first because they help you immediately connect with others

and show your engaging personality. First,

let's look at those light bulb moment sounds as in ah,

or oh, these are your, I get it now.

Sounds as in. Ah.

Now I understand you might use it like this. Oh,

I get it. I need to whip the eggs with the sugar.

Here's another one. Hmm.

This shows appreciation or enjoyment,

especially when something pleases your senses as in your sense of taste or

smell, for example. Hmm,

this candle smells really good and now the fun part,

celebration sounds first. Aha.

This is your eureka moment when you finally figure something out as

in, aha. Now I know why the printer wasn't working, or,

woo-hoo. This is pure joy and excitement.

Perfect for celebrating good news, as in woo-hoo,

we won the contest similar to this. Yay.

This is for cheerful celebration and use it anytime there's a happy

moment, big or small, for example. Yay.

I can't wait to see you next weekend.

Now I wanna pause with these positive reaction words to highlight one

that is easily confused. It's a bit deceiving.

It looks similar to that woohoo example.

It's pronounced whoop de doo.

And we have to be careful with this one because it's often used

sarcastically. In fact,

we use it to show that we're unimpressed or maybe even annoyed,

for example. Well, whoopie doo, you knew the secret before I did.

As I said, we have to be careful with that one.

And now let's look at a few sounds that we use to highlight

relief or when that stress melts away first. Phew.

It's almost like a soft whistling sound showing your relief,

and you can use it after avoiding something stressful, for example.

Whew, I'm so glad we submitted that report before midnight next.

Uh,

this is a relieved sigh and it's perfect when

tension releases after something stressful, for example. Ah,

thank God everyone's okay. That storm was brutal.

I want you to remember that these positive reaction sounds are your first

step to showing more personality and being more expressive in your English

conversations. If you're not sure where to start,

I want you to choose one or two that feel natural to you and try using them

in an English conversation today.

And now let's move into an important part of being expressive,

showing negative emotions. I know this can feel a bit uncomfortable,

especially in professional settings,

but expressing these feelings naturally is the key to authentic

communication. You know what I often hear from my students? They say,

I'm worried I'll sound rude if I show negative emotions in English.

But actually expressing these feelings appropriately makes you sound more

genuine and relatable.

So let's start with some examples for disgust and disappointment.

Here are three sounds we often use to indicate disgust, ick,

and yuck. Listen to how I use them. In some natural situations,

ick, I can't believe he ate that. Or, Ooh,

the apples in the fridge are rotten.

These are especially useful when something is unpleasant or unpleasantly.

Surprising as in taking a bite of a rotten apple. Now,

for those disappointing moments, we have some gentler sounds.

We can start with first, ah,

this is your compassionate sound.

Notice how it shows both sympathy and disappointment,

as in, oh, I was looking forward to the concert.

Too bad it was canceled. Here's another soft way to show disappointment.

Blah, this is perfect for those mild letdowns,

as in blah. The second date was awful. Now,

when you are disappointed and really unimpressed, we use

this shows dismissal or strong disappointment,

and I want you to try this one with me because the longer you make the sound,

the stronger the feeling is first and

longer. For example,

the doctor advised me to eat less sugar.

Now I can't even enjoy the holidays. Moving on,

let's talk about those moments when you need to express frustration or

annoyance.

This is especially important in professional settings where expressing these

feelings appropriately can help you navigate challenging situations.

First, err and err.

This is your go-to sound for frustration. Of course,

you can adjust the volume to indicate the level of frustration you feel

when things really go wrong. You can use that volume as in, oh,

the electricity went out and I lost all my files.

Now for those slightly more mild moments where you have a bit of annoyance

with a bit of disappointment you can use, Hmm, try it in this sentence.

Hmm. Those kids always walk through my rose bushes.

And when you want to show stronger disapproval, you can click your tongue as in.

Now, we want to use this one carefully because it can also sound very

judgmental. For example, he's laid again,

one thing that almost always causes some level of frustration

or disappointment is making mistakes, which we all do.

Here's how to react when they happen. First, uhoh,

this is for when you first realize that something is wrong,

as in, uh oh, I locked the keys in the car.

Similar to that, for small everyday mistakes that aren't too serious,

we use oops, or whoops.

These are ways to show that mistakes that you're not too worried about, as in,

oops, I sent the wrong link for the zoom meeting. From time to time,

you might also catch yourself making a silly mistake or what we might call as

a face palm moment. And in those moments we say, duh,

as in I just deleted all the pictures on my phone. Duh.

And finally, in this category,

let's talk about how to express when something isn't engaging you.

In other words, it's boring. The first one on our list is yada, yada,

yada.

This is perfect in conversations when you want to skip over the

predictable details or the unnecessary details. For example,

you might hear someone describing a movie or a book as in the story was

typical boy meets girl, boy loses girl, yada, yada, yada.

Next in this category, meh.

It shows that you're unimpressed and bored.

It's very simple, but effective as in meh.

I wasn't impressed by the presentation.

And our final sound in this category is one that we've already heard before,

blah.

This can also be used to say that something is boring unimpressive.

For example, if you're describing a book, you might say,

the first few pages were just, blah,

there was too much describing and not enough storytelling.

Before we move on to our next section, I want to practice these together.

I'll give you a situation and I want you to respond with the appropriate sound.

Are you ready? Situation number one,

you just realized you forgot your presentation notes.

What might you say? If you're not too concerned, you might think, uhoh,

I forgot those notes. Or if you're extremely frustrated and annoyed,

you might use, oh, I forgot those notes. And then situation number two,

your colleague is telling a very long, boring story.

What might you be thinking in your mind? Perhaps, meh,

it's boring, or yada, yada, yada. Come on, let's go.

I want you to remember that using these sounds naturally takes a bit of

practice, especially if you're uncertain about these negative reaction sounds.

So start with the ones that feel the most comfortable to you.

And remember, even native speakers,

don't use all of these examples every single day.

Just choose one or two and start with those.

Now we're moving into reactions that are especially useful in a variety of

conversations.

Expressions for how to show surprise and confusion. Naturally,

these are perfect for moments when you need time to think or you need to react

to unexpected information. First, let's start with showing surprise.

These sounds can help you react instantly and naturally. First,

oh, this is your basic surprise sound.

And it can be used to show sudden understanding or sudden

realization. For example, oh, you wanted oat milk,

not regular milk.

This is also great for some of those light bulb moments that happen in meetings,

as in, oh, I see what you're saying next. Eek.

These are for moments that are startling. In other words,

not exactly pleasant surprises. For example,

let's say that you're just sitting at your office desk typing an email,

and then you see something moving in the corner of your eye.

You look over and you might think, eek, there's a mouse. And now, whoa,

this shows surprise and amazement.

I want you to listen to how versatile this one is First. Whoa,

I didn't know you'd be here.

That expresses amazement or pleasant surprise. However,

it can also be used to mean slow down in conversations.

Perhaps someone else is really excited or speaking way too quickly,

and you just need to take a moment. So you might say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Hold up a minute. Could you go back and say that again?

Next on our list here is, yikes.

This is used for concerning.

Surprises or unpleasant surprises. For example, yikes,

I found out our neighbors were robbed two days ago.

And now confusing sounds.

These are absolutely essential for professional situations or

conversations when you just don't understand everything that's been said.

They help to buy some time so that you can think or ask

for clarification. Politely first, huh? Or eh,

these show that you didn't understand something.

And they also can simply be used to ask someone to repeat themselves,

for example. Huh? Could you repeat that? I didn't hear you.

Next is, um, we use this to show that we're thinking.

And before I go any further,

I want to put up a big red flag with this sound.

It is okay to use sometimes,

but if you're one of my fluency school students,

then you absolutely know the dangers of overusing sounds

like. Um, so we want to be very careful and use it sparingly.

For example, in a conversation,

I might say I'm not really sure how to reduce costs, but, um,

I think we can start by analyzing the unnecessary costs that we have

similar to, um, is hmm. And once again,

we want to be very careful about how often we use this sound.

If we overuse it,

it starts to become a fluency disruptor.

So we have to be very careful when we use this sound.

It often indicates that someone is thinking deeply, for example.

Hmm. I'm not sure where do you want to go for dinner tonight?

Before we go on to our next section, let's do another practice.

I'm going to describe a scenario and you respond with the appropriate

sound. First,

your colleague shares an unexpected project deadline.

What would you say? How would you respond?

You could use woe as in being shocked or yikes.

Next, you didn't quite catch what someone said.

What could you say here if you thought, huh,

that would certainly be an appropriate response. And number three,

someone asks your opinion in a meeting and you need time to think.

What could you say? Hmm, let me think about that.

A quick thing to remember about the examples in this section is that they can be

very valuable when you need time to think or you're feeling

confusion.

But of all the reaction sounds that we're learning today,

these sounds like, um,

and hmm are the ones we want to be most careful with.

We want to use them sparingly. I know we've got quite a.

List of these interjections and reaction words today,

but I don't want you to worry.

I'm going to share with you my top recommendations of which ones to start using

now in professional conversations and in casual conversations as well.

But before we get there,

I have a couple more categories I want to share with you. First,

making requests,

these are particularly useful sounds for trying to get someone's attention,

or in moments when you want to speak up, but you also want to stay polite.

The first one is our universal sound for requesting quiet

sh.

This sound is fascinating because the length of this sound indicates how urgent

it is when we have a short sh,

it's a gentle reminder, and when it's longer sh,

it indicates more urgency. Here are how we use both.

In an example sentence,

the baby is sleeping or sh,

no talking in the library.

And now for those moments when you need to get someone's attention discreetly,

we use, this one is very soft and brief.

Did you hear what happened yesterday?

It's also quite often used for sharing secrets or private

information. Next up,

this one is just like,

it sounds like you're clearing your throat and it's an attention getter.

For example, I'd like to add something.

This one is especially useful when someone forgot that you're waiting

to speak. If they skip over you, you might simply go,

or when you need to join a conversation before it moves on.

Or perhaps you simply want your presence to be known in the conversation.

Let's take a quick moment to practice these together.

Think about which sound you would use when you need to remind colleagues

they're speaking too loudly near your client meeting. Absolutely.

The best one here is sh. Next,

I want you to think about what you might say when you're quietly trying to get

your colleague's attention in a meeting here you might use.

And finally, the last one, you've been waiting to speak on a video call,

but others haven't really noticed. Here's where you might use that.

Now, let's explore something you'll use every day.

How to show agreement and disagreement without using full sentences.

The key here is knowing which sounds are professional and which ones are best

saved for friends. Let's start with the most professional,

most useful sound for agreement. Mm-hmm <affirmative>.

This is your perfect active listening sound.

It shows encouragement and it indicates your agreement. For example,

if someone says, do you think we should leave earlier to avoid traffic?

You might respond with, mm-hmm <affirmative>. It simply says, yes, I agree.

I think we should.

The next sounds that we're going to take a look at are definitely more

appropriate for casual situations. Think about having coffee with friends,

not having important conversations in a board meeting. The first duh,

I want to be careful with this one because it's very casual and it could

sound rude. It depends on how we use it with our voice. For example,

a friend might say, we should go early to help them out. Right?

And you might respond with duh, which means, yeah, of course we should.

Similarly, if you're frustrated with someone, you might say, duh,

you didn't plug it in. Again,

this expresses some mild disagreement, frustration,

and is slightly rude,

so we only use it with those that we feel closest to.

Next is Uhuh and nah ha.

These are very informal ways to say no. For example,

you broke the lamp, didn't you? Uhuh? And then,

nah, this is your friendly casual. No.

For example, if a friend says, do you feel like going to see a movie?

You might say, nah. And finally,

this is similar to the we had earlier, but there's a slight T at the end.

And this one can show strong disagreement. For example,

if someone says, you should consider getting Botox, you might say,

it's not worth the pain. Now, a quick tip here,

if you are ever in doubt of which one to use in professional

situations, mm-hmm <affirmative>. Is your go-to sound.

It's always safe and appropriate. With that in mind,

let's do a quick practice to distinguish between professional and casual

situations. In situation number one,

your boss is sharing an idea in a meeting,

and you want to show active listening. How would you do that?

Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. The first one is the best.

In scenario number two,

your friend suggests something that is quite obvious and

in your response, because it's obvious, you might say, duh. However,

use that one with caution. Again, duh can come across as rude,

and so we're very careful with when and with whom we use it.

Now that you've learned all of these interjections and reaction sounds,

let me share my proven strategy for helping them feel natural and

authentic in your English conversations. Here's what I tell all of my students.

Start small, really small,

choose just two or three to begin with. One positive reaction, like,

mm-hmm <affirmative> or ah, perhaps one thoughtful sound like,

hmm, and maybe one casual one like that. Very casual,

friendly, no, nah.

I also want you to remember that even native speakers don't use all

of these every day,

so it's okay to choose the two or three that feel comfortable to

you that fit your personality.

You also wanna make sure that you're choosing the right sound for the right

situation. For professional settings, stick with the neutral sounds as in,

hmm, for thinking, oh, for understanding an ah, for realization.

Save the expressive ones for casual conversations with friends as

in duh,

or now as you've been practicing these sounds with me.

You might be worried that perhaps you'll sound fake when using them in

English,

and I want you to know that you can choose the sounds that match your

personality the best.

Start with the sounds that feel natural to you or perhaps are similar to sounds

that you already have in your native language.

You might also be worried about making a mistake,

and I want you to start by using these interjections and reaction sounds

in conversations with people you trust, like close coworkers,

good neighbors, or a dedicated conversation group that you have for practice.

Once you have someone that you can begin using these within conversations,

here's your three step plan. Number one,

I want you to watch and listen to English happening around you.

Notice how others use these sounds in podcasts, movies,

TV shows and conversations.

Pay attention to how other English speakers use them.

Then start practicing privately. Just try to repeat them out loud.

Maybe read a news story and while you're having certain responses

to that news story, try using some of these injections.

You can also practice in front of a mirror or record yourself using them in

conversations just to get comfortable with the sounds. And then finally,

in step three, use them with your friends and coworkers in English. Again,

start with people you trust or feel safe with.

Use them in those low pressure situations where you don't have to worry about

judgment.

Now if you don't have a conversation partner or anyone that you feel

comfortable practicing with,

and if you need a safe space to try out new communication skills in English,

the Confident Women Community is here for you. Inside the community.

Community you'll find real world practice opportunities in live conversation

groups.

You'll also discover a supportive network of women working toward the same goal,

speaking English with confidence and authenticity. With all of that,

you'll get monthly lessons that are designed to help you master communication

skills, like these reaction words,

small talk and professional conversations.

When you join the Confident Women Community,

you'll immediately get to start practicing with others who understand your

journey and you'll feel the support you need to take your English to the next

level. To learn more and join,

you can visit speak confident english.com/community.

Before you go, I want to reiterate my top recommendation.

Choose two or three of these injections to get started with.

You don't need to start using all of them today.

Pick your top three sounds or focus on one positive

interjection, one thoughtful example, and one for casual conversations.

I want you to feel just as expressive in English as you are in your native

language,

and using these reaction words is a big step toward making that happen.

These small sounds are the key to showing your personality in

English. If you found this lesson helpful to you, I would love to know,

and you can tell me in one very simple way.

Give this lesson a thumbs up here on YouTube, and while you're at it,

subscribe so you never miss one of my Confident English lessons.

Thank you so much for joining me, and I look forward to seeing you next time.