Knowing how to use discourse markers when speaking English is one of the fastest ways to close the gap between sounding hesitant and sounding genuinely fluent. They are the small connective phrases — "having said that", "to put it another way", "so, to come back to your question" — that tell a listener where you are going before you get there. They give your speech shape. Without them, even accurate, well-pronounced English can feel like a series of disconnected sentences, and listeners have to work harder than they should.
This article explains what discourse markers are, why they matter specifically in speech, and how to start using them in a way that sounds natural rather than memorised.
What Discourse Markers Actually Do
Think of discourse markers as road signs. When you are driving, a sign does not add to the landscape — it tells you how to read the landscape. Discourse markers do the same thing for your listener. "First of all" says: this is the beginning, there is more coming. "Mind you" says: I am about to complicate what I just told you. "So" — used as a spoken signal rather than a conjunction — says: I am drawing a conclusion now, pay attention.
In writing, paragraph breaks, full stops, and punctuation carry a lot of this load. In speech, none of that exists. The listener has only your words and your voice. Discourse markers are how you supply the structure that punctuation cannot.
They also buy you time — which is a legitimate and useful function. Saying "That's a good point — let me think about that for a moment" is not a weakness. It is what any fluent speaker does when they need a second to organise their thoughts. The alternative, a long silence or a string of "um um um", costs you more credibility.
Four Categories Worth Knowing
Not all discourse markers do the same job. It helps to think in categories.
1. Openers and framers
These signal that you are beginning, or that you are setting up context before your main point.
- Right, so…
- To give you some background…
- Just to put this in context…
- The way I see it…
These are especially useful in interviews and presentations, where your listener does not yet know what kind of answer is coming.
2. Sequencers and signposts
These tell the listener where they are in the journey of your answer.
- First of all… then… and finally…
- The main thing is… but on top of that…
- Moving on…
- To get to the point…
A worked example: instead of saying "We had a deadline problem. The team worked extra hours. We delivered on time. The client was happy." — which sounds like a list of unrelated facts — you might say:
"So, essentially, we had a deadline problem. What we did was ask the team to put in extra hours for three days, and — to cut a long story short — we delivered on time. The client was pleased."
The same information, but the markers ("so, essentially", "what we did was", "to cut a long story short") tell the listener how each piece relates to the others.
3. Contrast and concession markers
These signal that you are about to add nuance, push back gently, or complicate a point.
- That said…
- Having said that…
- Mind you…
- Then again…
- Even so…
These are particularly valuable in business English and academic discussions, where you want to show that you can hold more than one idea at once. Saying "The project went well. Having said that, there are things I would do differently" sounds measured and credible. Without "having said that", the second sentence can sound like a contradiction rather than a refinement.
4. Reformulators and clarifiers
These let you rephrase, correct, or sharpen what you just said — without starting over awkwardly.
- What I mean is…
- Or rather…
- To put it another way…
- What I'm trying to say is…
- In other words…
These are genuinely useful when you reach for a word and it does not come, or when you sense that your listener looks uncertain. Instead of stopping and apologising, you simply continue: "The process is quite iterative — or rather, you're constantly revising as you go." The correction is smooth, not a stumble.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Overusing one marker. Many learners discover "basically" or "actually" and then use it in every third sentence. This draws attention to itself and can undermine the clarity you are trying to achieve. Aim for variety.
Using written connectors as if they were spoken ones. "Furthermore" and "nevertheless" belong in essays. In speech, they sound formal to the point of stiffness. "On top of that" and "even so" carry the same logical meaning and sound natural when spoken.
Mispronouncing the marker itself. The phrase "having said that" is often rushed into something like "havinseddat" — which is fine in casual conversation, but in a presentation or interview you want each word to land. Take care to give the phrase just enough weight that the listener registers it as a signal, not as noise.
Treating discourse markers as filler. "So", "right", "okay" — used once or twice — are perfectly good spoken signals. Used constantly, they become the very "ums" you are trying to replace. The goal is deliberate choice, not substitution of one habit for another.
Practising Without Sounding Robotic
The way to internalise a discourse marker is to use it deliberately in context for several days until it stops feeling deliberate. Pick one. Use it three or four times today in real or practice speech. Tomorrow, add a second one. After a week you will have built a small, varied toolkit.
One reliable exercise: take a topic you know well — your job, your city, a recent project — and record yourself talking about it for ninety seconds. Then listen back and notice where you paused, lost the thread, or ran two ideas together without signalling the connection. Those are the moments a discourse marker would have helped. Re-record the same passage with the marker in place and compare.
If you want feedback on whether those phrases are landing clearly — whether your pace and stress are giving them the weight they need — tools like ummute can help you hear what your listener hears.
A Note on Stress and Timing
Discourse markers only work if the listener catches them. That means placing them with a slight pause before or after, and giving the key word its stress.
Compare:
- "That said the results were mixed" (no pause, no stress — easy to mishear)
- "That said — the results were mixed" (brief pause after the marker, "said" receives a light stress)
The second version signals clearly: I'm about to shift direction. The first version can blur into the sentence around it.
Intonation matters here too. Openers and framers often carry a slightly falling-then-rising pattern that signals more is coming. Closing markers like "so, in short" or "which is why" tend to fall toward the conclusion. You do not need to manufacture these patterns — listening to natural spoken English and mirroring it is enough. But being aware that the marker needs prosodic support helps you avoid delivering it in a flat monotone that strips it of meaning. The benefits of working on spoken rhythm alongside vocabulary become clear quickly once you try it.
The most fluent speakers are not the ones who know the most vocabulary. They are the ones who can take their listener by the hand and lead them through an idea — signalling every turn, slowing at the important points, and arriving somewhere together. Discourse markers are how you do that. Start with three or four, use them until they feel like yours, and your spoken English will become noticeably easier to follow.