COURSE: CONVERSATIONAL

ENGLISH I – LESSON 4
Professor: Ylmer Aranda
Contents
• Conversation endings
• Ways to continue a conversation
• How to stop a conversation?
• Resuming an interrupted talk
• The good listener and the good
speaker
• Bad habits and conversations
• Conversations and meals
• Private conversations
Conversation endings
• We don’t have to be rude to end a
conversation.
• Indeed, there are many ways to
end a conversation politely.
• The way we end a conversation
implies the terms of a relationship
in people: friendship, romance,
family, business, etc.
• Moreover, it implies if there will be
another conversation in the near
future.
Ways to continue a conversation
• This means the manner in which
we can keep alive the talk.
• One of the main secrets is to know
how and when to change the topic.
• In addition, we have to recognize
when the topic we are talking
about becomes monotonous or
boring.
• The idea of continuing a
conversation is to get the attention
of the addressee for a specific
reason, for example in sales.
How to stop a conversation?
• Conversations can become
boring or inadequate in certain
occasions.
• We often tend to end a
conversation if it involves an
improper approach to intimacy.
• Every conversation should stop
when there is nothing else to
say, or when the conversation
implies an unpleasant debate.
Resuming an interrupted talk
• Sometimes, a talk with people
can be interrupted for many
reasons.
• If the conversation was
interrupted and we want to
resume it, it is preferable to
follow some hints to do it.
• Resuming an interrupted talk,
when done right, means that the
speaker gives special importance
to the topic.
The good listener and the good speaker
• A harmonious conversation
means that both sides talk
respectfully.
• The interruption of the
conversation can only happen
because of external reasons.
• Having a good conversation
environment is essential for
business, family, love, and even
politics.
Bad habits and conversations
• Talking with other people is a matter
of politeness.
• One of the most important rules to
follow during a conversation is to pay
attention to the others.
• The English speaking countries have
specific rules for every case, although
they are similar to the ones applied in
other places of the world.
• Some bad habits in English
conversations imply bad
pronunciation or too correct
pronunciation.
Conversations and meals
• What do we say during a meal?
This is one of the essential
questions that every English
learner does.
• On meals, people may talk about
several topics, although they
might avoid other ones.
• Eating and drinking in an
appropriate manner can say
more than the words we are
pronouncing at the table.
Private conversations
• Private life is truly appreciated in
the English speaking countries,
specially in the United States.
• It is rude to talk about intimacy in
public sphere. It is even more rude
when we make questions on this
topic.
• Intimacy means: sex, personal life,
incomes, money, work, etc.
• Some taboo topics can be
considered as part of the intimacy
of a person. It can involve political
or religious beliefs, for example.
Thank you!