Why Paraphrasing in English is an Awesome Skill to Learn!
The Ultimate Guide! For Upper Intermediate and Advanced English levels (B2, C1, C2)
Hello, hello advanced English learners!
In today’s lesson, we’re going to explore how to paraphrase when you speak.
By the end, you’ll know:
- The difference between paraphrasing and summarising
- How to paraphrase in conversations
- Key language you can use to show your paraphrasing skills
This lesson is perfect for you if:
- You want to become a more fluent and confident speaker
- You use English at work or in professional settings
Let’s dive in!
with love, Kerin
Why Paraphrasing is an Essential Skill for Advanced English Learners
As you advance in English, learning to paraphrase is a key skill. It helps you express ideas more naturally, whether in academic writing, business contexts, or daily conversations.
Paraphrasing is essential if you:
- Use business English in meetings or professional settings
- Write academic papers or reports for work
But it’s not just for formal situations! Paraphrasing plays a huge role in everyday conversation, too – especially when speaking in a foreign language. And that’s our focus today.
By mastering this skill, you’ll:
- Improve how you gather and share information
- Avoid misunderstandings
- Lower your stress when using English, whether at work or in social settings
In short, paraphrasing (and summarising) are crucial skills if you want to be fluent and confident in English.
Improve English fluency with paraphrasing
So, what exactly is paraphrasing? It’s about rephrasing key ideas in your own words.
Imagine you are on the phone to a friend and you’re chatting about the dinner party that she went to the night before. At this dinner party, two other friends had a huge argument. And you want to know what happened, right? But you don’t want your friend to relate the incident word for word, in every single detail. You’re looking for a recap—the highlights, your friend’s take on the event. What you’re asking for is the paraphrased version of what happened.
Here’s another example:
Let’s say you’re preparing for a big meeting at work. You’ve gathered input from your team—lots of ideas and reports—but now you’ve only got 10 minutes to present everything. What do you do? Paraphrasing (or summarising) is your solution. It allows you to give only the key points in a clear, concise way so your audience gets the information quickly and effectively.
Paraphrasing, when used correctly, can:
- Save time
- Improve your fluency
- Increase understanding and communication flow
- Boost your credibility
What is Paraphrasing?
When you paraphrase, you take what someone has said (or written) and restate it in your own words. You don’t change the meaning—you’re simply making it clearer, more relevant, or easier to understand. Think of it as a form of verbal feedback.
Why is it useful? Well, paraphrasing allows you to:
- Clarify the message
Sometimes, what someone says isn’t clear. You can paraphrase to make sure you understood them correctly or to make the message easier for others to follow. - Make it more relevant to your audience
You can tweak the message slightly to align it with your audience’s interests or needs, making it more effective in a conversation. - Give it greater impact
In professional settings, like giving a presentation or writing a report, paraphrasing lets you maintain a consistent style without relying too heavily on direct quotes. It helps you sound more polished and in control.
Paraphrasing vs summarising in English
What is Summarising?
Summarising is a little different. It’s a brief overview of an entire conversation, book, research paper, or presentation. When you summarise, you focus on the main points and leave out the details.
What summarising and paraphrasing have in common is that you’re still using your own words and style. But summarising is all about keeping it short and to the point.
Summaries are useful when the original material is long or complex. They allow you to simplify ideas and focus on the most important information, without giving too much detail or without giving your personal opinion. Actually, that’s an important detail to keep in mind: you shouldn’t give your opinion either when you summarise. The point is to simplify complex arguments, grammar and vocabulary.your personal opinion.
Think of it like this: paraphrasing is about rephrasing and making meaning clearer, while summarising is about giving a concise overview.
English speaking tips: paraphrasing techniques
5 Practical Tips for Paraphrasing in English (with Language to Use!)
Now that you know why paraphrasing is important, let’s look at how you can start paraphrasing more effectively in your everyday conversations. Here are five practical strategies to help you do just that:
1. Use “In other words…” or “What you’re saying is…”
We said earlier that one good use of paraphrasing is to clarify meaning. To do that, it helps to use phrases that signal you’re restating something in your own words. This ensures the other person knows you’re clarifying their message. Try using:
- “In other words, you’re saying…”
- “So, what you mean is…”
- “If I understand correctly, you’re suggesting…” / “If I understood correctly, what you’re saying is ….”
- “To clarify, …”
This shows you’re actively engaged in the conversation and making sure you’re both on the same page.
Do you struggle to understand people in meetings or conversations?
Does this make you feel anxious?
BLOG POST:
Clarifying what you hear is a great strategy to reduce that stress and boost your confidence. For more on this topic, check out this post What NOT To Do When You Don’t Understand English Speakers
ONLINE COURSE:
Or if you want to develop these skills with my guidance, take a look at this course: Learn successful strategies to manage situations when you don’t understand what’s being said
2. Rephrase with simpler vocabulary or shorter sentences
Sometimes, the speaker might use complex words or long-winded explanations. You can paraphrase by simplifying the language while keeping the meaning intact. For example:
- Original: “The company’s financial situation has deteriorated significantly due to recent market fluctuations.”
- Paraphrase: “In other words, the company is losing money because the market is unstable.”
Using simpler language helps clarify the message for both you and your audience, making it easier to understand.
3. Focus on the main ideas, not every detail
When paraphrasing, you don’t need to repeat everything word for word. Concentrate on the key points. You can use phrases like:
- “The point is…” / “The main point is…”
- “To sum up, they’re suggesting that…”
- “The key takeaway is that…”
This helps to highlight the important parts of a conversation without overwhelming your listener with too much detail.
4. Change the structure of the sentence
Another effective way to paraphrase is by rearranging the sentence structure. This allows you to express the same idea in a fresh way. For example:
- Original: “The project was delayed because the team didn’t receive the necessary approvals.”
- Paraphrase: “The team couldn’t move forward with the project because they were waiting for approvals.”
By changing the order of the information, you can present it in a way that might be clearer or more suited to the situation.
5. Use synonyms to restate key ideas
This is a favourite tip of mine and if you speak to any of my students, they’ll tell you that I am obsessed with making them learn synonyms! Why? Because it is solid way to expand your vocabulary. You can swap out key words for synonyms or phrases that mean the same thing.
- Original: “She was really angry about what happened.”
- Paraphrase: “She was absolutely furious about the situation.”
By replacing “furious” with “angry,” you keep the core idea but use more familiar language.
Looking to expand your advanced English vocabulary?
The EDA blog is packed with lessons and posts designed to help you grow. For a great example, check out Ditch “Very”: Elevate Your English with Powerful Adjectives
And if you’re after a more guided experience with opportunities to practice speaking and receive expert feedback, explore our courses and learning experiences.
6. Check for understanding
Finally, paraphrasing is a great way to check if you’ve understood the speaker correctly. After paraphrasing, you can ask for confirmation. Try phrases like:
- “Is that right?”
- “Would that be correct?”
- “Did I get that right?”
- “Does that sound like what you meant?”
This not only shows that you’re actively listening, but it also gives the other person a chance to clarify if needed.
Activate!
Paraphrasing practice exercises for advanced English learners
Now that you’ve learned how to paraphrase in English, it’s time to put it into action! Let’s start by watching a short snippet of an interview in English. For this exercise, we’ll use a fun interview from a popular talk show like The Tonight Show (or any other interview you enjoy).
Practice paraphrasing in English conversations
Here’s what to do:
- Watch a short interview clip (2-3 minutes)
You can choose any interview you like—something entertaining and not too long. The Tonight Show’s interviews are great because they often have clear, casual conversations.You can find interviews on YouTube or social media, like this one:
- Listen for key points
As you watch, pay attention to the key ideas the guest is talking about. What’s the main topic of the conversation? What are the most important things they’re saying? - Paraphrase what you heard
After you’ve watched the clip, try to paraphrase what was said. You don’t need to remember every single detail! Focus on summarising the key points in your own words. You can start with phrases like:- “So, the guest is saying…”
- “In other words, they talked about…”
- Record yourself (optional)
To take this a step further, you can record yourself paraphrasing the interview. This will give you extra speaking practice and help you hear how your paraphrasing sounds. - Check your understanding
After paraphrasing, go back and watch the clip again to see if you captured the main points correctly. If you missed anything, no worries—this is all part of the learning process!
Example:
If the interview is about a celebrity talking about their new movie:
- Original interview: “I’ve been working on this film for over a year, and it was such a challenge because we shot everything on location in the mountains. We had a lot of weather issues, and it was physically exhausting.”
- Paraphrase: “The guest explains that they worked on the movie for a long time, and it was tough because they filmed in the mountains and dealt with bad weather.”
This exercise will help you sharpen your paraphrasing skills and make it easier to understand and communicate ideas in English. The more you practice, the better you’ll get!
Final Thoughts
Paraphrasing is all about rephrasing someone’s message to make it clearer or to ensure understanding. Using phrases like “In other words,” focusing on main ideas, changing sentence structures, and checking for understanding can really help you master this skill. Plus, by using synonyms and simplifying language, you’ll make conversations flow more naturally.
So, the next time you’re having a conversation, try paraphrasing to see how it helps improve your fluency and confidence!
Ps. Want to improve your English and move towards English proficiency? Discover all my courses here
