Conversation Gambits - Eric Keller, Sylvia T Warner 1988

44. The Generalisation Game
2. Linking Gambits

Work in small groups of 3 or 4 Below you will find lists of topics Your teacher will tell you which list is yours You must think of as many generalisations with exceptionsas possible in the time allowed One person in your group should write them down Another person can agree to read them out to the class The group with the most generalisations is the winner For example

In general old people are very conservative There are exceptions, of course My own grandmother started jogging when she was 80.

Topic list 1   Topic list 2

1. Grandparents  1. Women

2. Teenagers   2. Babies

3. Millionaires  3. Dogs

4. Teachers   4. Cars

5. Students   5. Policemen

6. Men    6. Priests

Topic list 3   Topic list 4

1. Cats    1. Artists

2. Doctors   2. Schools

3. Americans   3. Wild animals

4. Pop groups  4. TV News Readers

5. Actors    5. Hamburgers

6. Politicians   6. Money

Topic list 5

1. Third World countries

2. Vegetarians

3. People who believe in capital punishment

4. People who live in flats

5. Foreigners to my country

6. Fitness fanatics

Generalising

In general,

Generally speaking,

As a rule,

By and large,

In my experience,

Exceptions

There are exceptions of course.

One exception is ...

But what about ...

But don’t forget ...

Let’s not forget ...