Overview
Discourse management refers to the ability to organise and structure extended speech or writing: signposting main ideas (firstly, moving on to…), managing topic shifts, using meta-commentary (as I mentioned earlier, to return to the point…), and producing well-structured paragraphs.
Signposting
- OpeningI'd like to begin by / The purpose of this talk is
- SequencingFirstly… Moving on… Turning to… Finally…
- SummarisingTo summarise… In other words… To put it briefly…
- ClosingIn conclusion… To conclude… I'd like to end by saying…
Topic Shift and Repair
- Returning to: Turning back to my earlier point…
- Digression: This is a slight tangent, but…
- Self-repair: What I mean is… / To be more precise…
- Checking: Are you following? / Does that make sense so far?
Written vs Spoken
- Written: The following section examines… / As outlined above…
- Spoken: Right, so… / Now, if we look at… / Bear with me…
- Both: Not only… but also… / This brings me to…
- Register matters: mix formal written signposts in academic work.
When to use
Academic presentations
Turning now to the second finding, the data reveals a significant pattern.
Business meetings
Let me return to the budget issue I raised earlier.
Academic essays
This section examines the implications of the data presented above.
Formal speeches
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate the three core recommendations.