The Art of Good Conversation

En el mundo de la diplomacia, se dice que el arte de conversar consiste en el desarrollo de las observaciones que las personas hacen en lugar de argumentar el contrario.
Para desarrollar nuestras competencias conversacionalas en inglés os sugiero las siguientes pautas:

Mostrar interés, hacer preguntas abiertas, usar la escucha activa y participar en la conversacion.

1) Show interest
When we converse with somebody we want the other person to show interest in what we say and vice-versa. So how can we show interest in what the other person says?
We can nod our heads occasionally.

We can also encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments:

“Yes”, “uh huh”, “I see”, “That’s interesting”, “Really”.

2) Ask open questions.

If we only ask yes or no questions it’s difficult for conversation to flow naturally. Try to ask open questions about things you have in common with the other person (e.g work, the sector, topics, news, events).
Open questions usually start with (What, how, when, where, why)
“What do you think about….?”
“How do you feel about…?”
“Where is the best place to…?”

3) Active listening

We all do it, we think we’re listening to somebody and then we start thinking about something completely different. The other person catches us doing it and thinks we are not interested. End of conversation.
A key part of good conversation is responding appropriately at the right time.
"I see what you mean"
"I know what you mean"
"That´s true"
"I can understand you’re point of view"
Read more about active listening in this post.
http://peakperformer.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/5-top-tips-for-international-socialising/

4) Two-way conversation

Remember boring conversations we’ve had, it usually involves either the other person or ourselves doing all the talking. Remember don’t be afraid to change the conversation.
“What about….”
“Have you heard….”
“Did you see…..What did you think?”

Conversation is like tango; without a dancing partner to practice with you’re just dancing alone.

Christopher Wright
The Practice Office www.thepracticeoffice.com
Una inmersión trabajando en inglés Imprimir