Tips for Talking

To help the person’s expression

• Give the person plenty of time to respond
• Encourage all attempts to communicate
• Do not interrupt or answer for the person
• Give questions or choices to clarify what the person means, for example:
  • “Do you mean … ?”
  • Ask what their topic is
  • Give a choice of two options (“Do you want to watch TV or go outside?”)
• The most important thing is the meaning behind the communication, not how well the person can put a sentence together

To help the person’s understanding

• Avoid background noise
• Speak naturally but clearly
• Ensure eye contact
• Speak in short, simple sentences
• Try rephrasing what you said if the person does not understand
• Talk about events, objects and people in the here and now
• Clearly identify people and topics
• Do not change topic quickly
• Be aware that the person will understand better when they are not tired
  

Tips to help manage difficult social situations

Problem: Poor conversational turn-taking

• Give feedback about the need for people to take turns in conversation.
• Say “It’s ____’s turn now. Let them finish and then you can say what you want to say”.

Problem: Talking about the same topic for too long.

• Give feedback that the topic is finished.
• Have an agreed upon non-verbal signal to prompt the person to move on (e.g. tapping your watch discreetly).
• Say “We’ve talked about _______, and now we’re talking about _______”.

Problem: Talking about inappropriate topics/giving too much personal information.

• Give feedback that this is inappropriate.
• Say “It’s not appropriate to talk about _________ in this situation/with this person”.

Problem: Invading people’s personal space.

• Give feedback that the person is too close, direct them where to stand./sit.
• Change the environment (e.g. have a table between you and the person, position the chairs in the room before the person arrives).

Problem: Inappropriate eye contact (staring or avoiding eye contact during conversation).

• Position yourself in the person’s line of sight.
• Give verbal prompts to make eye contact and give praise when it is done.
• Look away and don’t engage someone in conversation if they are staring.

See Toolkit B: Promoting Independence - Section 10: Conversations for more practical tips