Communication

Conversation

I- Discuss the following:

1) Do you usually start conversations in these places?

- elevator
- bus stop
- waiting room
- queues
What do you commonly say? If not, why do you prefer to keep in silence?

2) Think about daily life conversation (family, friends, colleagues). Do you pay attention to gestures,
pauses, turn taking?

3) How can a piece of conversation turn into an argument? Which topics could be “responsible” for this?

4) Do young teenagers enjoy talking to adults? Why? Why not? What’s the role of technology?

II- “10 ways to have a better conversation”, by Celeste Headlee.

1) Watch the video up to 4:27. Highlight important points.

What do you think the rules will be like?

2) Watch the first five rules. Was there any phrase that caught your attention?

Which rules are the missing ones?

3) Now, watch the final part of the video. Then, answer these questions:

What does Stephen hawking say about IQ?

What’s the meaning of the comic that appears?

Which is the most important rule for the orator? Do you agree?

Complete the phrases:

- “If your mouth is open, you are not ______________”. Buddha

- “Most of us don’t listen with the intend to understand, we listen with the intent to _____________”.
Covey

4) Look at the phrase:

1
 How would you define a conversation? Think of
metaphors like the “miniskirt”, for example:
“Conversation should be as fresh as a beer”.

II Post-watching tasks:
5) Look at the ten rules. Match them with similar ideas

1) Don’t multitask a- Err on the side of caution

2) Don’t pontificate b- It’s condescending and boring
3) Use open-ending questions c- Be present in the conversation
4) Go with the flow d- If your mouth is open, you are not learning
5) If you don’t know, say that you don’t know. e- Assume that you have something to learn
6) Don’t equate your experience with theirs. f- Forget about the details
7) Try not to repeat yourself. g- Try to get interesting responses
8) Stay out of the weeds h- Make of your conversation a “miniskirt”
9) Listen i- Let thoughts go in-out of your mind
10) Be brief j- Conversations are not a promotional opportunity

6) Headlee mentions the ten rules but she doesn’t give an order to them.
Which order would you give to them? Compare your answers and discuss.

7) If you had to summarize into only five rules, how would you shorten the list? Write it below. You can
modify their names.

1º ___________________________________________
2º ___________________________________________
3º ___________________________________________
4º ___________________________________________
5º ___________________________________________

8) Read the following situations. Which rules are missing in each one?

1) Priscille is having dinner with her friends at a bar. She is

the only person who talks. She is telling long stories about her
holidays. She puts emphasis on every single detail. Her friends
are not following her and they look boring.

2) Sunday family lunch. They are all talking at the same time about
topics such as education, economy - even the last football match. The
oldest man in the table (grandfather) interrupts all the time,
presuming he knows about every single topic and comparing other
people’s experiences with his own ones.

2
3) There’s an interview in a TV show. The presenter is a young man who has recently
graduated. He is interviewing a retired, important firefighter. The young man asks questions
such as “Are you proud of your job?” “Are you happy with your life?”. The retired firefighter
is a bit nervous and only answers “Well, yes”, “Hmm, no”. The interview lasts less time than
the expected.

9) “A perfect conversation”

Write a short paragraph (three sentences) about how a good conversation should be. Think about Celeste
Headlee’s ten rules and key words such as: respect, balance, silence, listen, etc.

You can use the following structures.

A good conversation should be…

The best conversation has…
Conversations shouldn’t be…
When talking, people shouldn’t…
It’s difficult to have a conversation if…

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10) Time to reflect

a. Which was the best interview on TV/radio that you remember?

b. Have you ever had an unforgettable conversation? Who was it with? How was it like?
c. Which famous celebrity would you like to share a conversation with? How do you imagine it?