Objective 3: Interact through questions and paraphrasing

A key part of having a productive conversation is, of course, speaking up and saying something. Being a good communicator is more than being a good listener. People will come to you for help or advice so you’ll need to share ideas and new skills. You'll want to determine how well others are taking them in. 

There are three specific conversation strategies you can use to determine how well your conversation partner is learning what they’ve come to you for. If not, you may need to try something different. You can practice all of these strategies and get better at them over time.

Paraphrasing. Paraphrase what your conversation partner is saying to you by restating things in your own words. Paraphrasing shows you are listening and also serves as a reality check. It gives your conversation partner an opportunity to confirm what they’ve said so you both understand each other. Paraphrasing is especially helpful when determining goal(s) for a conversation. You can paraphrase what others have said by using sentence starters like, “What I hear you telling me is…” or, “If I’m hearing you correctly, you’re saying…” or others. 

Ask and allow for clarifying questions. Your Digital Ambassador conversations will be give and take. You may need to ask questions to determine if your conversation partner understood what you said or showed them. You should also allow your partner to ask you questions throughout your conversation. Don’t just wait until the end. They may have missed a key point or step and you’ll have to go over everything again. You may also have to clarify language, especially if people use technical jargon or slang you don't understand.

Summarize. You should take the time to summarize what has been covered in a conversation and what you’ve completed at key points, and especially when closing a conversation. Give your conversation partner time to confirm or revise summary points. These summary points can also lead to your action steps that will follow the conversation.