O W L S M A R T.

S G

Maintaining a Conversation
Students are required to provide a personal response to a visual stimulus as they maintain a con-
versation with the examiner on a topic that shares the same theme as the stimulus.

What are some things to note?

• An opinion is described as a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based
on fact or knowledge. Hence, it is important not to regurgitate something one has come across
but rather take a stance on an issue or present alternate viewpoints to something being dis-
cussed.

• Students should practice with terms such as “pros and cons”, “benefits and disadvantages” and
“Is this acceptable/right?”

• Always keep the main theme in mind so that every opinion shared is relevant and sustains the
conversation.

• The examiner can either (1) ask the student to provide an example that supports the stated opin-
ion or (2) request that the student further explain a specific part of the stated opinion.

• Students should keep all responses positive. This means that the students offer solutions or alter-
natives if needed. This adds value to the conversation and sustains it.

• One often neglected way to sustain a conversation is through non-verbal actions such as nod-
ding one’s head and smiling.

• Do not be afraid to ask the examiner to repeat a question (politely). This ensures that the student
does not provide inaccurate personal responses.

• And LASTLY…do not respond immediately! Have a brief pause while you formulate your re-
sponse in your mind.

Main point

Explain/ Elaborate Relevant example

 O W L S M A R T. S G

Essential Activities in Nurturing an Effective Communicator

1. Create questions that they can use to join an existing conversation or to initiate one. The im-
portant point is to actually use them and respond accordingly.
E.g. Use the 5Ws and 1H in crafting these questions. A child may come across an article on the
use of personal mobility vehicles on pavements. Some possible questions are “When were these
vehicles first allowed to be used in Singapore?”, “What are the different types of personal mobil-
ity vehicles?”

2. Develop empathy by being genuinely interested in what the other person in a conversation has
to say. In other words, one has to take a walk in the shoes of another person in order to sustain
any meaningful conversation. E.g. “I can see why you say that but…”

3. Be clear with the main point so that the other party does not have to struggle with ambiguity.
This is crucial in holding the attention and interest of the other party. Parents should bear this in
mind when they want to ask their children questions. E.g. “What was the most memorable part
of that performance?”

4. Use hand gestures to support your spoken communication. They can be pretty useful in main-
taining the pace of a conversation and displaying interest in an ongoing conversation.

5. Use volume appropriately so that the other party does not feel frustrated in having to strain his
ears to hear you. A common feedback in school-based oral examinations is that frequency of oral
examiners asking their candidates to speak louder. They do this so that they do not misunder-
stand the opinions expressed by the candidates.