AI Tutor
Ever been in a group project where someone shares an idea, and then... absolute dead silence? It feels awkward because nobody knows how to pick up the ball and run with it.
To keep an academic conversation moving smoothly, we use discourse markers, which are connecting words and phrases that signal how your idea connects to what someone else just said.
So how do you actually build those bridges without sounding like a robot? It comes down to three specific moves.

The Three Power Moves

The first move is elaborating, where you add fresh evidence or a new angle onto a teammate's point using phrases like "Adding to your point..." or "To back that up..."
The second move is respectful countering, which lets you introduce a different viewpoint without shutting down your peer, using starters like "I see what you mean, but looking at line 14..."
The third move is clarifying, where you make sure everyone is on the same page by asking "Are you saying that...?" or "Can you point to where in the text that happens?"
Having the right words is only half the battle. How do we keep the conversation from turning into people talking over one another?

Spoken Conventions and Turn-Taking

In 1974, sociologists Harvey Sacks, Emanuel Schegloff, and Gail Jefferson studied real conversations and proved that groups naturally avoid chaos by tracking subtle spoken signals called turn-taking cues.
These cues include pausing at the end of a complete thought, making eye contact, and using active listening echoes—brief spoken nods like "Right" or "Good point"—to show you are tracking.