The Bridging Statement
Bridging statements are about taking or regaining control of an interview.
They are designed to refocus the interview and keep you on message. A bridging statement will help you focus on the most important messages and at the forefront of your mind before and throughout the interview.
While the bridging statement may be used to handle tricky interviews or contentious issues, the key is to deliver it consistently in a calm, approachable and unflappable manner.
The following are great examples of bridging statements that can be applied to almost any interview situation:
1. “The more important issue is...”
2. “I think it would be more accurate to say...”
3. “Here’s the real problem...”
4. “What I’ve said comes down to this...”
5. “Let me emphasize again...”
6. “What matters most in this situation is...”
7. “While that is important, it’s also important to remember that...”
8. “It all boils down to this...”
9. “Before we leave this subject, I need to add...”
10.“I won’t speculate. What matters in this situation is...”
11.“And what’s most important to know is...”
12.“What is more important to look at is...”
13.“The real issue here is...”
14.“What this all means is...”
15.“What’s most important to remember is...”
16.“If we look at the bigger picture...”
17.“If we take a look back...”
18.“If we take a broader perspective...”
19.“If we look at the big picture...”
20.“Let me put all this in perspective by saying...”
21.“What all this information tells me is...”
22.“Before we continue, let me take a step back and repeat that...”
23.“Before we continue, let me emphasize that...”
24.“This is an important point because...”
25.“What this all boils down to...”
26.“The heart of the matter is...”
27.“What matters most in this situation is...”
28.“And as I said before...”
29.“And if we take a closer look, we would see...”
30.“Let me just add to this...”
31.“I think it would be more accurate to say...”
32.“Let me point out again that...”
33.“Let me emphasize again...”
34.“In this context, it is essential that I note...”
35.“Another thing to remember is...”
36.“Before we leave the subject, let me add that...”
37.“The one thing that is important to remember is...”
38.“What I’ve said comes down to this...”
39.“While...is important, it is also important to remember...”
40.“The key here is...”
41.“I’m not here to comment on that. What I would like to say is...”
42.“I’d also like to add that...”
43.“Just to put this into some context ...”
44.“What’s absolutely critical to remember is...”
45.“People have said that but...”
46.“To put this in perspective ...”
47.“That’s very interesting, but first let me make the point...”
48.“That’s very interesting, but what I believe is...”
49.“The point is...”
50.“What I’m most concerned about is...”
51.“What we have to look at is...”
52.“I cannot speak for xxx, you should address issues to them specifically. What I
can say is ...
53.“I’m sorry, I don’t have the precise details. I will come back to you on that.”