The phrases 总的来说 and 总而言之
The phrases 总的来说 and 总而言之 have a similar meaning and are used to summarize or to conclude a previously stated idea.
总而言之 
is placed at the beginning of a sentence and is followed by a comma.
is placed at the beginning of a sentence and is followed by a comma.Examples
总而言之，最重要的应该是过程，而不是结果
In general, the main thing is the process, not the result
zǒng ér yán zhī, zuì zhòngyào de yīnggāi shì guòchéng, ér bú shì jiéguǒ
总而言之，你们是同学，是吗？
In short, you are classmates, right?
zǒng ér yán zhī, nǐmen shì tóngxué, shì ma
总的来说 is usually placed at the beginning of a sentence and followed by a comma.
When it is placed in the middle of a sentence, it is placed before a predicate without a comma.
is usually placed at the beginning of a sentence and followed by a comma.
When it is placed in the middle of a sentence, it is placed before a predicate without a comma.Examples
总的来说，他的身体状态还算不错
Overall, he is in good shape
zǒng de lái shuō, tā de shēntǐ zhuàngtài hái suàn búcuò
他的专业能力很不错，工作态度总的来说也很端正，是个很好的合作伙伴
His professional abilities are very good and he generally has a good attitude toward his work. He is a very good partner
tā de zhuānyè nénglì hěn búcuò, gōngzuò tàidu zǒng de lái shuō yě hěn duānzhèng, shì ge hěn hǎo de hézuò huǒbàn