Conversation tips and Active listening

CONVERSATION TIPS: aCTIVE LISTENING AND FILLER WORDS

Some activities

Active listening

improving conversation

production

Tips to practice

LET'S RECAP:Quiz

ACTIVE LISTENING

Famous quote

nO POSSIBLE CONVERSATION ACTIVITY

fILLER WORDS AND FILLER SOUNDS

ACTIVITY

CONVERSATION SKILSS

OBJECTIVES

Toolbox

• To identify and apply tips to have active listening.
• To realize of the use of filler words and sounds and use them in the right situations
• To recognize the importance of conversational abilities

• To roleplay a conversation applying the tips of the lesson.

objectives

“Like” and “you know” are common filler words we use to give examples or just to connect two ideas. Sometimes they are useful but most of the times they are not necessary. Watch the following video of an interview with Ariana Grande and count how many times Ariana uses them.

Conversation is not always that easy. Take a minute to think about the following questions.

• How often do you have conversations with strangers?
• Do you prefer taking the lead in a conversation or just following the other?
• Do you consider yourself a talkative person?

Now please click the picture and watch the video.

CONVERSATION SKILLS

HOW MANY TIMES DOES SHE SAY "LIKE" AS A FILLER WORD?

20 TIMES

30 TIMES

59 TIMES

Strike!

NEXT QUESTION

GREAT JOB!

HOW MANY TIMES DOES SHE SAY "YOU KNOW" AS A FILLER EXPRESSION?

13 TIMES

30 TIMES

2 TIMES

Strike!

GREAT JOB!

NEXT QUESTION

ARE THE FILLER WORDS SHE USED NECESSARY FOR THIS COMMUNICATION?

WHAT IS A WORD FILLER

YES, THEY ARE NECESSARY

NO, THEY ARE NOT

Strike!

GREAT JOB!

NEXT QUESTION

ONLY THE NON NATIVE SPEAKERS USE FILLER WORDS AND SOUNDS BECAUSE THEY DO NOT KNOW THE LANGUAGE

NON NATIVE SPEAKERS USE ONLY FILLER SOUNDS

TRUE, NON NATIVE SPEAKERS DOUBT A LOT

FALSE, SHE IS NATIVE AND SHE USES THEM

BACK TO THE MENU

WELL DONE!

oh,No!

TRY AGAIN

• Sometimes some sounds could be used in order to fill gaps in communication.
• These sounds have a meaning and a purpose.
• Using too many sounds will affect your fluency.

• There are plenty of expressions you can use as filler words.
• Filler words may distract the listener and cause to loose the meaning.
• Filler words are part of language, but should be used with control.

FILLER WORDS AND SOUNDS

Do you think communication just with filler words is possible? Get in pairs and recreate a situation where only filler words and expressions are used.Then come back and talk about your experience with the group

No possible conversation

Larry King

“I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening.”

ACTIVITY 3

ACTIVITY 2

ACTIVITY 1

What do you need to be a good listener? Active listening is a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding. Watch the video and participate in the activities.

ACTIVE LISTENING

START

Conversation tips and Active listening

LET'S RECAP

1/5

1. Filler words are useless and do not give any important information

FALSE

TRUE

No information

Important data like numbers and concepts

Feelings or other cognitive processes

2/5

2. What kind of information could be understood when using filler words and sounds?

Understanding the rhythm of a conversation

Chatting a lot via text message app

Listening to music in English

3. Active listening is a skill that can be improved by…

3/5

4/5

Make quick assumptions and not allowing the other finish their ideas

Be quiet while the other speaks and then ask if you did not get something clear.

Paraphrase for understanding, so the other confirms we are getting the idea.

4. Which of the following options is NOT an active listening tip

5/5

I do not care. Do you have anything else to say?

So you feel disappointed about that situation, right?

Okay, and how does it affect me?

5. Which of the following questions can be considered a good “follow-up question”?

Back to content

Great job! Now it is time to practice more active listening and conversation tips.

Quiz completed!

try again!

Situation 2 Your coworker is upset and shows deep sadness. You try to cheer him/her up, and little by little he/she starts to tell you what is happening. (He / She may be sad because got fired or was not approved for a salary improvement)

Situation 3Your 6-year-old son/daughter is destroying toys and does not want to play with friends. As a parent, you will try to apply active listening to find out what is happening. (He / She may be sad because a friend is gone)

Situation 1 A customer is mad in anger because the internet is not working. This customer is an old person and does not know much about technology. The agent must show great active listening and try to calm down the customer and help.

Time to practice

jenga quiz

Steps to talk

Hacks

How to improve conversation?