How do you keep the English conversation moving after you have started the conversation?
After you have introduced yourself to the person and you have exchanged a few words, how do you keep it going if you want to connect with the person?
Do you feel like the conversation always ends abruptly?
The first thing you can do is avoid “yes/no” questions.
They will end the conversation if the person is shy.
To come up with great follow up questions you can ask:
(In this example we are at a Spanish language meetup)
- Who: Who taught you Spanish?
- What: What other languages do you know?
- When: When did you start learning Spanish?
- Where: Where did you hear about this meetup? Where do you live?
- Why: Why did you decide to start learning Spanish?
- How: How do you like this meetup? How often will you be coming to this meetup? How did you get here?
*** The “Why” question is useful because it gives you a lot of insight into the person’s motivations, intentions in life, and their general point of view on things.
This framework is great for social events and exams also!
If you are taking the IELTS Exam it’s important to learn how to extend your answers on the Speaking test to fill the amount of time.
Learn what to do if you run out of ideas on the IELTS Speaking test.
What challenges have you had when it comes to continuing English conversations?
Let us know in the comments below.