Conversation is an important part of everyday life. This provides us with the opportunity to interact and connect with those around us. No matter who it is we are talking to, we can use the same set of skills to keep the conversation going. These skills can be nonverbal (things we do not say but can do with our body, such as body movement and facial expressions) or verbal(the things we say).
Nonverbal Conversational Skills
- Eye contact: look at the person you are talking to, or the person is who is talking to you
- Movement: nod your head to let the other person know you hear them, and are listening
- Facial expressions: show your emotions!
- (i.e. If the person is sharing a fun story, you can smile while you listen; if they are telling something surprising, you can open your eyes and raise your eyebrows. etc.)
Verbal Conversational Skills
- Initiate
- Greet the person! Let them know you see them, and you want to talk
- (i.e. Hey mom!)
- Greet the person! Let them know you see them, and you want to talk
- Ask questions
- Begin the conversation! Give them something to respond to
- (i.e. how are you?, What did you do this weekend?, etc.)
- Continue the conversation! Ask the same question back to the other person to give them a chance to respond
- (i.e. I watched a movie. What did you do this weekend?)
- Begin the conversation! Give them something to respond to
- Make comments
- Get the conversation going. Comment on something you notice or like
- (i.e. I love your shirt! Yellow is my favorite color)
- Respond to questions. Let the person know you heard their question and give them an answer
- (i.e. I am good. This weekend I went swimming at the pool; it was a lot of fun)
- Respond to comments. Let the person know you heard what they said
- (i.e. That does sound fun! Swimming is fun to do in the summertime)
- Get the conversation going. Comment on something you notice or like
Another tip to keep in mind: bring up topics that both people want to talk about! It is okay to comment or ask about something you really enjoy, but we want to give the other person the same chance to share things they are excited about.
If you don’t know what that is, ask! This will show the person you care about them and their interests, making them feel happy!
If you or a loved on is in need of Speech Language Pathology please call us today at 586-323-2957 to get started!
Caroline Farney, MS CCC-SLP
