Vocabulary. Speaking

I know	I don't know
I'm pretty sure	I haven't a clue
I know it like the back of my hand	I don't know off the top of my head
I know it by heart	I don't know offhand
I know it inside out	I've never heard of him
I'm fairly certain it is	I know next to nothing about it
I'm positive it is	I haven't the faintest idea

Background information	I've always...    I'd never done ...
Details	We set up ...    We decided to organise ..
Problems	I didn't know what to expect.    The whole thing was quite a challenge.    It was tough.
How it felt	It exceeded my expectations.    We felt we'd accomplished something.    It was a fantastic learning experience.
Results/follow up	I've learnt a lot.    I'm planning to ..

Saying it's good	It's a must / a must-see.    It's good value for money.
Saying it's not so good	It's a bit overrated / overpriced.    It's not all it's cracked up to be.    I found it a bit dull / touristy.
Recommending	If I were you, I'd go to ...    Make sure you go to ...    Don't miss ... / You should try ...
Warning	Watch out for ...    One thing to be wary of is ...

First impressions	She comes across as ... (adjective) ... but once you get to          know her, she's ... (adjective)     The thing that strikes you about ... is that ...
Character - good things and bad things	The thing I (don't) like about ... is ...     What I (don't) really like about ... is ...     He's so + (adjective)     He's such a (+adjective) + person/man, etc.     He can be a bit ... (negative adjective)

Give imprecise information about how often something              happens	once in a blue moon      from time to time
Give imprecise information about quantity, time and / or            numbers	more or less      loads of mistakes      about N-ish      in an hour or so
Give imprecise information about things you do / have been      doing	bits and pieces      that kind of thing
Give imprecise answers to direct questions	sort of / kind of      in a way

It changed ... completely      It paved the way for ...      It's made a massive difference to ...       It's revolutionised ...      We shouldn't underestimate ...      It has had a huge impact on ...

Saying it's very important	My main priority is ...     The essential thing for me is ...     This is absolutely vital!     I couldn't do without ...
Saying it's not important	I'm not really bothered / concerned about this.     This isn't a major priority.     I could do without ...

                                         How to describe architecture

Use superlatives	The Great Pyramid is arguably / probably the most ...     It is one of Australia's best known, and most photographed ...     It is thought to be /It is the largest / tallest ...
Provide details (size / description, etc)	It is built from metal / stones ...     The base is ...     Occupying / Covering an area of more than ... metres squared     It covers ... of ground floor space.     Standing 134m high / above...
Describe reason for building / purpose	It was built to celebrate the anniversary / as a memorial for      / in order to / in honour of ...     Built to house / as office space ...

Prefacing with a general statement	It can be a bit tricky at first.     It's pretty straightforward.     It's really easy.     It's a piece of cake.
Sequencing	Firstly ... / The first thing you've got to do is ...     Then / Secondly ..., / The next step is to + infinitive ...     Once you do / 've done this ...     Finally, ...
Addressing the listener	You do this ... / Do this...     One does this (formal / usually  written English)
Conditions / what can go wrong	Without doing this, it won't work.     If it doesn't work, you should ...
Checking it's understood	OK? Got it? / Any questions?

                             How to stall for time (when you're asked a difficult question)

That's a good question.     Let me see.     That's tricky.     I'd have to think about that.     That's a difficult question.     Well, ...

                                                            How to describe problems
                           (when something goes wrong with every machines)
   

It keeps getting jammed.     I can't get it to make any copies.      It's always coming up with the same message.     I don't know how to make it shut down.     I'm having problems switching it on.     This ... seem to be stuck.     It won't go round.