How to...
Avoid giving your opinion

Avoiding giving your opinion

Sometimes a person asks for your opinion about something and you have nothing to say or you don't want to say your opinion. Here are ten phrases for avoiding giving your opinion.

  1. I couldn't say.
  2. I've never given it much thought.
  3. I don't have any feelings either way.
  4. Your guess is as good as mine.
  5. I (really) don't know what to say.
  6. I really can't say.
  7. You're asking the wrong person.
  8. It doesn't affect me (either way).
  9. It doesn't make any difference to me.
  10. That's an interesting question.

Explanations

  • Phrase 1 is a brief expression for saying that you don't have an opinion. Because of its brevity it might seem a bit rude.
  • Phrase 2 indicates (in a fairly polite way) that you don't think the question is very interesting because you never think about these things.
  • Phrase 3 might be an answer to a question about what somebody is going to do. you are saying that you don't really care.
  • Phrases 4 and 5 are saying that you don't have enough information to answer a factual question.
  • Phrase 6 is similar to phrase 1. It is saying that you have no opinion or idea about something.
  • Phrases 7, 8 and 9 are saying that you are not affected by the topic of the question and so have no opinion or interest in the topic.
  • Phrase 10 is often used by politicians. Although they say that the question is interesting