Talking Point is a resource that provides information on children’s communication including young people and the skills they need to progress in life.
Talking Point says that communication is a vital skill that all young people need to master. Making friends, building self-confidence, having relationships and starting work – these all depend on being able to communicate well with other. It’s really useful to understand how good your communication skills are, and the skills of your friends. This site is all about communication – why is it important, and how you can improve your skills.
It’s not always easy to communicate. We all experience times when it’s hard to speak, or hard to understand others. Here are some times when the young people we spoke to said it was harder:
Speaking to authority figures
A lot of people say that speaking to teachers or to important people is difficult. We get nervous about speaking and saying the wrong thing. They often have a strong presence, and we feel intimidated. Everyone gets this feeling, but if you have difficulty communicating, it can be even harder.
People we don’t know
If we meet someone we don’t know, it can be more difficult to communicate. We don’t know them, so we feel slightly nervous. When we are nervous, it’s harder to communicate.
When it’s loud
When it is noisy, it’s hard to hear what is happening. It is hard to concentrate on what someone is saying if there is a lot of noise.
When there are a lot of people
When there are a lot of people talking in a group, it’s hard to follow the conversation. Sometimes two people speak at the same time, and it’s hard to listen to both of them. Also in groups a lot of people feel more nervous about speaking.
Over the phone
It is difficult to talk over the phone because you can’t see the other person. When we are face to face, we can see when they smile or use gestures. These help us understand what they mean. If you can’t see them you don’t get these clues, so it can be easy to misunderstand what they mean.
Understanding others
Sometimes other people are hard to understand. If they speak quickly, quietly or use long words, it can be hard to understand what they are saying. Some people have strong accents and it can be hard to understand what they are saying until you get used to their accent.
Tips for making communication easier
- If you can, be prepared. Plan what you are going to say. Maybe making some notes before your need to talk will help. This is particularly helpful if you are talking in groups, or to people in authority.
- Be confident to say that you haven’t understood. It is fine to say “I heard the first bit, can you just tell me that last bit again?”
- Practise some good ‘conversation starters’. These are helpful when you need to talk to people you don’t know. Things like “did you see X factor at the weekend?” or “what music are you into?” will help you to start talking to someone when you don’t know them.
- Some people find it helpful to make notes, to help them remember what they need to do. So, in class they make sure they write down all the detail of their homework tasks. This means they don’t forget important things
- Think carefully about who you are talking to. Remember that you need to talk to teachers in a different way to the way you talk to your friends.
For more information go to: Talking Point
Written by Rachel Harrison, speech and language therapist, on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services.