In my therapy sessions, I like to talk about four key conversation rules that help children when teaching about conversation skills.
- Talk to a person – maintain eye contact, look at the person, actively listen, pay attention to what they are saying
- Take turns – try not to interrupt, have equal amounts of time talking, make sure everyone has shared what they want to say
- Ask Questions – make sure they are relevant to the topics and appropriate to the person you are asking
- Talk about the same thing – stay on topic, ask relevant questions and say appropriate comments, change topics when everyone is ready
I get the children to recall back the four rules then explain them to me and note why they are important when having meaningful conversations. This has been a fun exercise to begin a session that is targeting specific conversation skill areas as it helps children also see the bigger picture.
