Maintain a smooth flow
This is the beginning of the section of the course about fluency. You will understand what fluency is and learn practical ways to improve it. This lesson is an overview, and it offers quick wins and simple strategies you can use right away.
What is fluency? Define fluency with your teacher.
Fluency is the ability to speak smoothly. It is not about being quick; it is not about being accurate. If your student seems surprised that fluency ≠ speed, tell them (at a laid-back speaking pace):
I'm not speaking too quickly. What do you think of my speech? It's fluent. But it's not quick. In fact, I'm speaking quite slowly.
NOTE: It can help to point out the connection to "fluid" and "flow".
Try answering a very tough question. Focus on speaking fluently—don't worry too much about speaking accurately.
Try one of these questions:
- What is the importance of diversity?
- What are the pros and cons of joining a start-up company?
Ask: How do you feel about your fluency? What do you think you need to improve?"
Here are five basic strategies to improve fluency. Go slowly from one point to the next, and discuss them with your teacher. Practice each one until you feel comfortable using it.
- Respond immediately.
- Confirm the question (by repeating a key word or phrase, or rephrasing it).
- Use fillers.
- Slow down.
- Say what you can.
There are a lot of ideas here—spend as much time as needed on each one. It might take more than one lesson.
1. Respond immediately
You should say something right away to show that you've heard the question. The response can be:
- Simple
- Right…
- Okay…
- Sure…
- Well…
- Wow…
- Really…?
- More in-depth
- Interesting…
- That's a good question.
- Hmm, let me think about that.
2. Confirm the question
Repeat a word or phrase from the question with a rising or descending tone. This is good for three reasons:
- It buys time;
- It shows you understand; and
- It shows you are careful about what is asked.
Practice:
Say: "I'll ask a question, and I want you to just use a reacting word (like: Right/Okay/Sure), and then repeat a key word or phrase."
- What's the biggest technological breakthrough of the last 20 years?
- E.g.: "Hmm, technological breakthrough, let's see..."
- How do you define human nature?
- E.g.: "Wow, human nature? That's a tough question."
- If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
- E.g.:"Really, anywhere? Let's see… If I could travel anywhere..."
3. Use fillers
There are a lot of these. Tell your student to avoid long silences by using thinking phrases:
| Phrase |
Meaning |
|---|---|
| Let me see/think... |
I need a little time to think about this. |
| How should I put it...? |
I have the language, I'm just thinking about how best to phrase it. |
| Hmm, good question. |
That's a difficult but interesting question, and I need to think about it before answering.* |
| Off the top of my head, I'd say... |
I haven't thought about this very much, but I need to respond now, so here is a quick answer. |
*NOTE: In English there is a culture of asking difficult questions, so this phrase is a compliment and suitable for anyone—friend, boss, client, teacher, etc.
4. Slow down
Powerful speakers tend to speak slowly, while nervous people tend to speak too quickly. Slow. Down.
5. Say what you can
This has two main implications:
- Your English is not perfect. That's okay—in fact, it's why you are taking lessons! There are some things that you can't say yet in English, so in a business situation you may need to take some notes and come back after you've figured out how to say it.
- Don't muddle through a big idea with incorrect English. If you are a very low-level speaker, you might have to take time and work with your teacher to learn the grammar and vocabulary you need.
- English is different from [whatever language your student speaks]. There are words and ideas you can't directly translate. You can explain them, but they are specific to the culture of the language.
- Don't spend time trying to translate a word. You might have to use a few words to convey the same meaning in English.
Practice answering some more questions fluently.