This simple and easy-to-use Verbal Stratagems website offers a robust collection of phrases for specific purposes, such as agreeing, checking for understanding, expressing gratitude, or making a suggestion. These phrases have been collected and maintained by Dr. Brenda P. Imber of the English Language Institute at the University of Michigan and Carson Maynard, a Michigan graduate. The phrases are designed to be useful for teachers, presenters, and participants in discussions.
The most straightforward way to interact with the site is to use the Browse the 41 Categories of “verbal stratagems” or phrases with a purpose.
The site has been optimized to work well on mobile browsers.
If you’re not sure what a category means, e.g. “pre-closing,” you can click on the right-arrow button to see that list, and this is likely to clarify the shared purpose or context of these words.
“All right,” “All righty,” and “Any questions before we stop?” are all “pre-closing” signals that a teacher or presenter can use to signal that it’s about time to end a class or even an office hours conversation.
Clicking on the word or expression makes a “play” and “pause” button appear. There’s also an illustration that displays the waveform of the recording so you can pay close attention to stress and speed. The word is repeated twice, with careful attention to intonation. One way Dr. Imber invites students to use the site is to video or audio-record the version on the website, then to record their own voice repeating the phrase. Then you can play back both versions to compare sounds, intonation, speed, and stress.
You may also want to distinguish the meaning and usage of various phrases. The next one on this list, “Consider it done,” is not merely a signal that a conversation is about to end.
One way to quickly check on meaning and usage is to do an internet search with the word meaning followed by the phrase in quotes, so here that would be meaning “consider it done”. Typically, dictionaries and idiom websites will pop up, and just browsing the list of top results is likely to provide adequate information.
Reply with a comment to share your favorite Verbal Stratagem on the site.
From Guest contributor Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos: “I think mine would be ‘Way to go!’ Way to go, Dr. Imber & Mr. Maynard, for creating a great resource. Thanks!”