Spoken English, Year 7: more practice

Brief notes and looking up at the audience

提示Who are you speaking to — the page or the room?

为什么Eye contact helps listeners stay with you, and notes let you sound natural.

The hook

提示Fishermen use one.

为什么A strong opening makes the audience want to listen.

Pause between points

提示Silence is allowed in a talk.

为什么A pause gives you time to breathe and the audience time to think.

The rule of three

提示An odd number feels complete to listeners.

为什么Groups of three sound balanced and memorable.

The first

提示Which one stays with the same idea?

为什么Building on an idea means adding to it, not switching topic.

'Why do you think that?'

提示One can be answered with a single word.

为什么An open question invites explanation. A closed question gets a short answer.

'I see your point, but I think...'

提示Show you have heard first.

为什么Acknowledging someone's view keeps the discussion friendly and still lets you disagree.

Add emphasis or strong feeling

提示It marks a moment when emotion runs high.

为什么Punctuation is a guide for the voice as well as the eye.

Pause

提示Think of a gap in speech.

为什么An ellipsis shows a trailing off or a hesitation.

I

提示Who is being ruled out?

为什么Moving the stress changes the meaning, so a reader needs to find the words that matter.