COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

Types of Communication Strategies

1. Topic Nomination
2. Topic Restriction
3. Turn-taking
4. Topic Control
5. Topic Shifting
6. Repair
7. Termination

TOPIC NOMINATION
AIMS:
1. To collaboratively and productively establish a topic
2. To open a topic with the people you are talking to,
3. To propose or suggest a topic or issue that we want to talk about

Reminders (Strategies):
● Start off with news inquiries and news announcements as they promise extended talk.
● Keep the conversational environment open for opinions until the prior topic shuts down
easily and initiates a smooth end.

Helpful expressions (strategies):

● Why don’t we talk about…?
● Let’s talk or discuss… What do you think?
● How about talking/ discussing…?

TOPIC RESTRICTION
● Aim: to limit the topic or subject in conversation
● Situations:
- specific instructions you must follow in meetings and classes
- Delivering a speech on peer pressure

● Reminder:
- Be always on point and avoid sideswiping from the topic during the conversation
to avoid communication breakdown.

Helpful expressions (strategies):

Let us focus on…
Limit your talk on…
Why not concentrate on…?
Let us not discuss the …
We will not touch on…
 Could we just focus on…?
Could you limit your discussion on….?

TURN-TAKING
● Aims:
- People decide who takes the conversational floor.
- To give all communicators a chance to speak

● Turn is the time when the person is talking.

● Turn-taking is the skill of knowing when to start and finish a turn in a conversation.
● Sometimes people are given unequal opportunities to talk because others take much
time during the conversation.

Strategies:
● Remember to keep your words relevant and reasonably short enough to express your
views or feelings.
● Try to be polite even if you are trying to take the floor from another speaker.
● Do not talk incessantly without letting the other party air out their own ideas.
● Avoid interruptions or avoid being interrupted.
● Sometimes people are given unequal opportunities to talk because others take much
time during the conversation.

Strategies:
To acknowledge others, you may employ nonverbal signals like a nod, a look or a step
back, and you could accompany these signals with spoken cues such as:
What do you think?
You were wanting to say something?

TOPIC CONTROL
Aims:
● To regulate or manipulate the topic of conversation and how long we want the other
person may talk
● To elicit specific information from a conversation, we need to be in control of what is said
and when.

Reminders/ Strategies:
● Control answering questions. Do not answer all the questions asked by the persons you
are conversing with.
● Initiate new topics. Introduce a new topic for discussion.
● Manage the process. Know how and what to control when communicating.
● Handle small talk. Small talks can lead to big talks. Always remember to start at the
beginning.
Helpful expressions:
Yes, but…
You know, I’m not sure about that. However, what I can tell you is…
The real question here is “…?”
The heart of the matter is “…”
Let us talk about something that I am more familiar with…
It would be a good idea if we talk… than…

TOPIC SHIFTING
Aims:
● To change the subject in a conversation because the persons involved in the
conversation do not find the current topic interesting
● In other words, it is where one part of a conversation ends and where another begins.

Reminders/ Strategies:
You have to be very intuitive.
Make sure that the previous topic was nurtured enough to generate adequate views.
You may also use effective conversational transitions to indicate a shift like “by the way,”
“in addition to what you said”, “which reminds me of..”

Helpful expressions:
By the way,…
Incidentally,…
To follow up…
Going back to…
Let me bring you back to…
Talking about _____ is better.

❖ Aside from these expressions, topic shift may be signalled by silence, long pauses and
short utterances.

REPAIR
● Repair is the process by which a speaker recognizes a speech error and repeats what
has been said with some sort of correction.
● Aim: To correct a misunderstood utterance either through self-initiated repair or
corrected by others

Helpful expressions:
I mean…
What I mean is that…
Rather, _______-.
4 Varieties of REPAIR
1. Self-initiated Self-repair
This repair is both initiated and carried out by the speaker of the trouble source.

Example:

“I am going to Bianca’s – I mean Bella’s birthday party on Sunday.”

2. Other-initiated self-repair
This repair is carried out by the speaker of the trouble source but initiated by the
recipient.

Example:
A: I’m going to have my final examination next week.
B: What?
A: I said I am going to have my final examination next week.

3. Self-initiated other-repair
In this type of repair, the speaker of trouble source may try and get the recipient to repair
the trouble.

Example:
A: I need to pack my things tonight for our recollection on Saturday, so I need to get
another ummmmm….
B: Another bag?
A: Yes, that’s right! A bigger bag.

4. Other-initiated other-repair
Here the recipient of a trouble source initiates and carries out the repair.

Example:
A: Aren’t you glad that today is Sunday?
B: Sunday is actually tomorrow. *

*Indicates that the repair has been both initiated and resolved in the same sentence.

TERMINATION
Aim:
To end a conversation

TERMINATION refers to the conversation participants’ close-initiating expressions that

end a topic in a conversation. Most of the time, the topic initiator takes responsibility to
signal the end of the discussion well.
Helpful expressions:
Pre-closing
It’s been nice talking to you.
It’s been great talking to you.
I really enjoyed meeting you.
I’m sorry but I have to go now.
I’m afraid I have to leave now.
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us.

Helpful expressions:
Follow up
I’ll give you a call.
I’ll send you an email.
How do I get in touch with you?

Helpful expressions:
Closing
I look forward to seeing you again.
We’ll see you on Friday.
See you next week.
Let me give you my business card.
Call me if you have any questions.