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Speaker 1: I guess you're here because you think podcasts are a

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good way to learn English. Yeah. Absolutely, I was thinking

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the same thing. You might even think they are the

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best way to learn Well, I see your point, but

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I'm not sure everyone would think. So maybe we can

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agree to disagree. That's the language we'll look at today.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from

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New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.

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Speaker 1: All right, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael

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here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.

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And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode nine twenty six.

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How to agree and disagree politely in English. Hey, thanks

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for tuning in. Today. We're gonna talk about something that

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happens all the time in conversations, agreeing and disagreeing. But

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it's not just saying yes or no. We're gonna look

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at how to do this politely, whether you're in a meeting,

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having a group chat, or just talking with a friend.

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Why is this important? Well, in English, especially American English,

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how you say something is just as important as what

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you say. Being too direct can sometimes sound rude, even

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if you don't mean it that way. But when you

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know how to soften your words you can express your

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opinion clearly without sounding too strong or negative. All right,

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let's jump in. Let's start with a gree Now, agreeing

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is usually easier than disagreeing. Right, but let's go beyond

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just yes or I agree? Like how to agree politely

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without sounding like a textbook. Here are a few phrases

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you can use. The first one is I see what

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you mean like this, I don't think we should take

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the highway at this time. It's always backed up on Fridays. Yeah,

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I see what you mean. Maybe we can try the

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back roads instead, or we have that's a good point.

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Like if we go hiking early, we'll avoid the heat

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and crowds. That's a good point. Let's leave around seven

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am then. Or you can agree like this, Uh, I

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think we should try a new restaurant this weekend. Yeah, absolutely,

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I was thinking the same thing. Maybe that new Italian place? Simple, right,

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but it feels more friendly than just I agree. Now

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here's where things can get tricky disagreeing. A lot of

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English learners feel nervous about saying no. But guess what.

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You can disagree politely, and here are a few ways

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to do that. I see your point, but like your

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coworker says we should all start work at eight am

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to be more productive. You could say, I see your point,

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but I'm not sure everyone's at their best that early.

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Or that's an interesting idea. What if we tried something else. See,

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you're not saying no, that's a bad idea. You're offering

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a softer way to disagree and still sound like a

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nice person. And sometimes you agree a little but not totally.

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That's when you can say things like this, I get

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what you're saying, but like if your friend says, oh,

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it might rain, so I think we should cancel the picnic.

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You can say I get what you're saying, but the

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forecast says it'll clear up by noon. Maybe we can

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just go later. When you say I get what you're saying,

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but you're not totally disagreeing, but you are offering an

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alternate suggestion, here's another way to do that. Like if

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someone says I think social media is bad for your

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mental health, you could reply with I agree with you

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to a point, but I think it depends on how

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you use it. I agree with you to a point,

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Like I agree with you, but not totally. Here's one more.

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If your classmates says online classes are just as good

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for learning as in person classes. You could say that's true,

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but I think in person lessons are better for speaking practice. Now,

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let's talk about how native speakers actually sound when they

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agree or disagree, especially when they want to be polite

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or keep the conversation smooth. First of all, we don't

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always give a strong yes or no. A lot of

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the time we soften our language, and that's called hedging.

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We use little words like maybe, kind of or a

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little bit like. Instead of saying I disagree, you might

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hear someone say hmmm, kind of disagree, or that might

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be true, but it just sounds more gentle, more flexible.

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Another trick we use is asking a question instead of

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just saying no. Let's say someone gives their opinion and

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you're not sure if you agree. You could say really,

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oh I thought the opposite, or oh yeah, well why

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do you think that? See how that invites more conversation

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instead of just shutting the other person down with a no.

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And finally, when we disagree or hear something new, we

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often show curiosity. You might hear someone say interesting, I

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hadn't thought of it that way, or that's a new

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perspective For me, These kinds of responses show that you're

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open even if you totally don't agree. And one last tip,

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if you want to sound more natural, listen to how

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people agree or disagree in English language TV shows or podcasts.

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Notice how they say it. It's not about big words,

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It's all about tone and style. Okay. I hope you

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found these phrases useful today and you'll find some way

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to incorporate them in your English conversations this week. And hey,

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if you want to practice this kind of English with

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me and a group of other awesome learners, come check

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out my podcast Learners study group. We meet once a

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week and practice the language from these podcasts less together.

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It's a great way to build confidence and improve your speaking.

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Just check the link where you're listening to this podcast

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right now, or visit Myhappy English dot com and choose

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podcast episode nine twenty six for more info. Hey, thanks

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for listening, and remember, learning another language is not easy,

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but it's not impossible, and I'm here to help you

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on your journey.

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Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please

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visit Myhappy English dot com. Show your support for Happy

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English by leading us a review get English, get happy,

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happy English