Building on What Others Say in Conversations

Have you ever been in a group where everyone talks at the same time? It is hard to hear anything! For a very long time, people have been learning the best ways to have a good conversation. Let's look at how people figured out that talking together — not just next to each other — makes us all smarter.

So here is the big question: How do you take what one person says and connect it to what someone else says? That is what this lesson is all about!

When you build on others' talk, you show that you were listening. You also help everyone see how their ideas fit together. Here are the four big skills you need.

Look at the picture below. It shows three friends having a conversation about their favorite animals. See how the green lines connect their ideas? That is what linking looks like!

Did you see that? Emma talked about dogs. Liam talked about cats. Sofia listened to both of them. Then she said something that connected both ideas together. She said, "Emma and Liam both said they love pets!" That is building on others' talk. She did not just share her own new idea. She took what her friends said and made a bridge between them.

You can link ideas in a conversation by using special sentence starters. These are like magic words that help you build on what others say. Here is a flowchart that shows the steps.

Here are some sentence starters you can use when you want to link ideas:

• "That is like what ___ said about ___."
• "I agree with ___, and I also agree with ___ because ___."
• "What ___ said and what ___ said are both about ___."
• "___ said ___, and ___ said ___. I think they are connected because ___."
• "___ had a different idea than ___. I think ___."

There are different kinds of links you can make. You can agree and say how two ideas are the same. You can add on and make an idea bigger. Or you can compare and show how two ideas are different. Let's look at all three!

Here is a conversation in class about the question: "What makes a good friend?" Watch how one student links the ideas of two other students.

Sometimes it is easy to forget to link ideas. Here is a table that shows the good ways and not-so-good ways to build on others' talk.

Right now you are learning to link two friends' ideas in a conversation. As you grow up, this skill gets even more powerful! Here is what comes next.

The skill you are learning today is the starting point for all of these bigger skills. Every time you practice linking ideas, you are getting ready for amazing things! People who are good at this become great leaders, scientists, and problem-solvers.

Now it is your turn. Read each problem. Think about the answer. Then click the button to check your thinking!