Effective talking

Your aim is to express your thoughts and feelings in ways that enable other members of your group to understand you as clearly and fully as possible.

The first step is to be clear in your own mind what you want to say. You could then:

• inform, explain, clarify
  
  
• propose (eg 'I think we should do this …') - a good way of finding out other people's reservations about the idea, but not a safe way of getting their agreement to it
  
  
• suggest (eg 'What do you think of this idea?') - often a good way of getting agreement
  
  
• seek ideas, by asking others directly
  
  
• build on / respond to someone else's idea ('I'd like to expand on what X has just said …')
  
  
• disagree - can result in defensive behaviour or more disagreements
  
  
• support what someone else has said - can encourage someone to expand on an idea or give you more information
  
  
• state difficulties that you see in what someone else has said - can lead to defensive behaviour or disagreements
  
  
• summarise your arguments
  
  
• seek clarification / ask for more information.

Aim to express yourself clearly and concisely, in language appropriate to your listeners and situation.

Also develop an awareness of the non verbal signals you're giving, eg your posture, use of eye contact, gestures, tone of voice, and your position relative to others in the group. All these relay messages - sometimes unconsciously - to your audience.

For further guidance, see:

• Working in a group: if you're nervous about talking.