Conversation tips and Active listening

CONVERSATION TIPS: aCTIVE LISTENING AND FILLER WORDS

Toolbox

CONVERSATION SKILSS

fILLER WORDS AND FILLER SOUNDS

OBJECTIVES

ACTIVITY

nO POSSIBLE CONVERSATION ACTIVITY

ACTIVE LISTENING

Famous quote

Some activities

Active listening

improving conversation

Tips to practice

LET'S RECAP:Quiz

production

objectives

• 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.

“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 SKILLS

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.

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

59 TIMES

30 TIMES

20 TIMES

Strike!

GREAT JOB!

NEXT QUESTION

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

2 TIMES

30 TIMES

13 TIMES

Strike!

GREAT JOB!

NEXT QUESTION

ARE THE FILLER WORDS SHE USED NECESSARY FOR THIS COMMUNICATION?

YES, THEY ARE NECESSARY

NO, THEY ARE NOT

WHAT IS A WORD FILLER

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

FALSE, SHE IS NATIVE AND SHE USES THEM

TRUE, NON NATIVE SPEAKERS DOUBT A LOT

WELL DONE!

BACK TO THE MENU

oh,No!

TRY AGAIN

FILLER WORDS AND SOUNDS

• 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.

• 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.

No possible conversation

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

“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.”

Larry King

ACTIVE LISTENING

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.

ACTIVITY 3

ACTIVITY 2

ACTIVITY 1

Conversation tips and Active listening

LET'S RECAP

START

1/5

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

TRUE

FALSE

2/5

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

Important data like numbers and concepts

No information

Feelings or other cognitive processes

3/5

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

Understanding the rhythm of a conversation

Listening to music in English

Chatting a lot via text message app

4/5

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

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

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

Make quick assumptions and not allowing the other finish their ideas

5/5

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

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?

Quiz completed!

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

Back to content

try again!

Time to practice

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 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.

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)

How to improve conversation?

Hacks

jenga quiz

Steps to talk