Speaking so people understand
English · Key Stage 1 · The School
Talking is a skill you can practise. Stand still. Look up. Speak to the person furthest away from you. If they can hear you, everybody can. Now slow down. Most people who are hard to follow are not too quiet. They are too fast. Say one sentence three times. Say it fast. Then slow. Then somewhere in between. Ask a friend which one was easiest to follow. It is almost never the fast one.
Someone asks which book you liked best. A one-word answer stops the conversation dead. So say which book. Then say because. I liked the dragon one because the dragon was kind at the end. Now your listener knows something. That one word, because, is doing all the work. Teachers call this justifying your answer. It is the same skill you will use in every subject, for the rest of school.
A conversation has turns, like a game. You speak. You stop. You listen. Then you speak again. The hard part is the listening, because your brain is busy planning what you want to say next. Try this. Before you reply, say back one thing the other person said. Then add yours. It slows you down. It also proves you were listening, which is the part people notice.
Some questions shut a door. Did you like it? Yes. Now there is nowhere to go. Other questions open one. What was your favourite bit? Now the other person has to think. Try turning these three. Was it good? becomes What was good about it? Did you go? becomes Where did you go? Is it hard? becomes What makes it hard? Look at the first word each time. What, why, where and how almost always open the door. Did, was and is almost always shut it.