Communication Strategies 16 Rethinking your answer: Many ways to begin

classroom answer raise hand young man Asian

Answer the right question

Image Credit
Kate Mangostar via Freepik

This lesson will focus on confirming, rephrasing and active listening.

Introduction

Listening skills are not simply about hearing every single word the other person says the first time they say it. There are other things we do to make us better listeners, whether we are native or non-native speakers—things such as confirming, rephrasing and active listening. In a speaking test, you can use these to buy time while you are thinking. or if you don't fully understand the meaning or nuance of the question. 

Active listening may not be an important part of communication in some cultures. However, it is among English-speaking cultures and will be expected in many international business situations.

Clarification will benefit every student who needs to use English in business meetings, presentations, or even casual conversations.

Warm Up

Let's work on confirming using this example:

What do you think of the rapid trend of urbanization?

How could you confirm or clarify this question?

Some students will look at the list in the Language section. Try to discourage this. 

In descending order of understanding—#1 means you fully understand the question; to #4, which means you don't understand at all, or didn't hear, the question.

  1. Repeat the key word or phrase, using a questioning tone.
    E.g.: The trend of urbanization? Hmm... 
  2. Rephrase it.
    E.g.: Sorry, you mean people moving from the countryside to cities? 
  3. Ask for clarification.
    E.g.: Sorry, did you say "urbanization?" That means more people are living in the cities, right?
  4. Ask for repetition.
    E.g.: Sorry, would you mind saying that again? or Sorry could you rephrase that for me?

Ask:

Which of the four strategies do you already use? Which is the most difficult for you to use? 

Language

The following strategies are potential ways to confirm or clarify. You may find certain ones suit you better than others, but please practice each strategy with your teacher. 

Your teacher will ask you a question for each strategy.

  1. Repeat a key word or phrase. Be sure to use plenty of word stress for the repeated language.

  2. Rephrase the question by repeating it in your own words, using synonyms and similar phrases.

  3. Clarify one part of the question by asking what is meant by a certain word or phrase.

  4. Ask the interviewer to repeat the whole question. This should generally be avoided, but if you didn't hear or understand the question at all, it's better to ask for it to be repeated than to answer the wrong question.

NOTE: An advanced strategy is to disagree with the premise of the question. This is probably a rare case, but it can be a powerful way to control an interview.

Go through the strategies one at a time. Give the student opportunities to practice until they feel comfortable with the strategy before moving on. You may use the same question more than once so they can improve each time.

NOTE: For this exercise, the student should just confirm the question. They don't need to give a full answer.

1. Repeat a key word or phrase—stress and tone are really important for this one. Practice repeating a key word or phrase with clear stress and a questioning tone.

Examples/Practice:

  • What do you think about solar power compared to more common power sources like coal or fossil fuel?
    E.g.: Solar power... Hmm...
  • What advice have you been given that has helped you the most?
    E.g.: What advice? Hmm...
  • If you could go anywhere for a weekend, where would you like to go?
    E.g.: If I could go anywhere? Let me see... 

2. Rephrase the question—change at least one word to a synonym. Your student does not need to ask the test administrator what it means, but just say the rephrased question.

NOTE: If your student is lower-level or has a hard time with this method, don't spend time on it. Simply give an example and move on. 

Examples/Practice:

  1. When in the year is your work the most hectic?
    • Most hectic = busiest / When in the year = what season. Your student can rephrase one or both of these.
  2. What would you do if you had to be on a team with someone who's not a people-person?
    • Not a people-person = unfriendly or antisocial. Make sure your student also changes the pronoun "you" to "I". 
  3. What was the last inspiring or heartwarming story you heard?
    • Inspiring = uplifting / Heartwarming = lovely, moving, or touching. 

3. Clarify one part of the question—your student can ask:

  • Sorry, did you say…?
  • Sorry, you said…, right?
  • I didn't quite hear you. That was…, right? 

Practice (commonly misinterpreted questions): 

  • Describe an important political figure in today's world.
    • "Figure" in this case is a person, but students often think it means number.
  • Which area would you like to invest in and why?
    • "Area" gets misinterpreted as geographical instead of sector.
  • Have you ever lied for someone?
    • Emphasis on for, not to. 

4. Ask for the whole question to be repeated. Your student can say/ask: 

  • I didn't catch that. Could you say it once more? 
  • Sorry, would you mind speaking a tad (a bit) more slowly? 
  • Sorry, could you say that again?

Practice—use fast speech to make it challenging to hear and understand:

  • What are the pros and cons of hosting an international sporting event?
  • What kind of adult did you think you would be when you were a child?
  • What's the best choice you made in your youth?

NOTE: Disagree with the premise

To disagree with the premise of the question, you can say:

  1. Actually, I don't think...
  2. Let me push back a little on that...

Examples:

  1. What do you think of the rapid trend of urbanization?

    • E.g.: Actually, I don't think it's so rapid. I think it's pretty slow. Compared to the development of technology, people are still slow to move to cities because cities are too expensive and crowded. 

  2. People who return home after a long time away sometimes struggle to reintegrate. Why is this?
    • E.g.: Let me push back a little on that. I don't think most returnees struggle to reintegrate. From my experience, returnees are happy to be back.

Practice:

  1. America, especially Silicon Valley, is the hub of technological innovation. Why is America so much more innovative than other countries?  
    • Premise: America is more innovative.
  2. Why is your country's leader so popular?
    • Premise: The leader is popular.
  3. In your opinion, what are the first steps to achieving world peace?
    • Premise: World peace is achievable.
Practice

Now practice clarifying each of these questions. Don't give a full answer—you only need to:

  1. respond immediately;
  2. confirm the question; and
  3. give an initial claim.

Some of these questions may be strange, specific or surprising, so make sure you understand exactly what it is that your interviewer is asking.