Responding and interacting – WJECListening skills and responding to others

This particular part of the oracy exam also requires you to be assessed on your listening skills. This does not just mean assessing if you can be quiet when someone else is giving their opinion, although this is obviously important. Assessing your listening skills actually means focusing on your ability to listen to what other members of the group have to say, and then watching the way you respond to the points they have made. It is perfectly acceptable to either agree or disagree with what another member of the group has said as long as you do it in the right way.

Some points to remember

Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with what someone has said, it is important that you wait until they have finished speaking before you begin talking.

Even if you do not agree with what someone else is saying, do not belittle their opinion. You can disagree with it without trying to suggest that your opinion is the only one that counts. Some examples of appropriate things to say are:

• I can see why you believe that but I feel…
• although that is a very valid opinion, I feel that…
• on the other hand, it is also possible to believe that…

Sentence starters such as these will help you to put your point across in a convincing but acceptable manner.

Never laugh at something someone else has said, even if their opinion does seem rather outrageous to you. This will undoubtedly lead to you losing valuable marks.

Remember

The person assessing you really wants to see if you can be an active listener. In other words, they want to see if you can listen carefully to what another member of the group is saying and then respond in the most appropriate manner. They also want to see if you are capable of moving the conversation forward, particularly if the discussion is beginning to falter or if the same comments are being repeated several times. If you are able to pick up on the things people say, respond to them appropriately and help move the discussion forward, you will certainly be awarded extra marks.