Hi everybody, this is Mr Duncan in England.
How are you today?
Are you okay?
I hope so.
Are you happy?
I hope so.
Today I'm going to talk all about talking.
I'm going to encourage you to discuss discussion.
Today we are going to have a conversation about conversation.
The traditional act of conversation is the sharing of a subject or information verbally.
Two or more people talk.
They have a conversation.
To converse is to talk.
Your speech conveys a message.
Your words have meaning.
You are transferring information verbally.
A conversation can be about anything from a light topic such as the weather right up to something very heavy like politics or religion.
A heavy conversation can become heated as normally opinions will be expressed.
The topic of conversation can be light and pleasant or heated and intense
We can chat and converse in many ways.
We can talk over the phone.
We can chat face-to-face, either in person or through the internet via a web camera.
Non-verbal conversations use text.
We write or type what we want to say.
We can converse on a smartphone by sending text messages to each other.
You can send an email to someone.
Or, if you want, you can post a good old-fashioned
Letter.
It might be a little slower than electronic mail, but it is still by far the most sincere way of letting someone you know that you care about them.
The problem with text messaging is that sometimes a misunderstanding can occur.
When it comes to expressing your deepest feelings, there is still no substitute for the spoken word.
Many an argument has been ignited by a misunderstood text message or email.
the thing you wanted to say might become lost in the seemingly cold and stark text.
There are still certain things that must never be done via a text message, such as firing a person from their job, telling your current lover that you want to break up with them,
informing a family member of the death of a close relative, or any really bad news that may require physical support.
Do you ever find yourself lost for words?
To be lost for words means that you are so surprised by something, your words will not come out.
You have been left unable to speak because of the shock or surprise.
You are speechless.
You have been left speechless.
If you have difficulty expressing how you feel about something, you can say that you are lost for words.
You cannot find the words to express your emotions at that time.
You can say, I don't know what to say.
I'm speechless.
I have no words to express my feelings.
I'm speechless.
I'm completely gobsmacked.
Something that is shocking or surprising can be described as astonishing, stunning, overwhelming, jaw-dropping.
You have been left speechless.
You are without speech.
There are many ways of expressing the act of conversation.
You can chat.
You can talk.
You can have or hold a discussion.
You can have a chinwag.
You might stop for a chitchat.
You can natter for a while.
You make polite conversation.
Some people seem to have such a great way of expressing themselves verbally.
They always know what to say.
They are so eloquent and fluent.
A person who talks confidently with ease can be described as having the gift of the gab.
They are very persuasive.
They use words in such a way that you cannot say no to them.
It can also be used negatively to describe a person who talks too much.
A person who keeps forcing their opinions onto others might be described as a loud mouth.
a big mouth, a motor mouth or a windbag.
Some people will just talk and talk without stopping for breath.
This type of person cannot keep their mouth shut for even a minute.
He or she is a chatterbox.
You know the situation, there you are in a restaurant having a nice meal, when at the next table a person decides to start talking loudly.
He or she is talking endlessly.
Quite often the person they are sitting with says nothing.
They have no chance to speak because the guy or girl is talking non-stop.
We can describe this as not being able to get a word in edgeways.
There is no opportunity for the other person to speak.
I would love to say something but I can't get a word in edgeways.
Have you ever been in this situation?
Have you ever been with someone who would not stop talking?
What did you do?
Most people will just sit patiently and nod politely, when what they really want to do is punch them in the teeth.
If a person talks too much about one subject, we can say that they are going on about it too much.
they are going on too much and for too long about that particular subject.
If you are passionate about something then you might end up going on about it for too long.
The trouble is what is interesting to one person might be a little boring to another.
We can say in a very negative way that they are going on too much about it.
The person is droning on.
They will not change the topic of the conversation.
There is a fine line between a scintillating conversation and a dull one.
The secret of all conversation is knowing when to change the subject.
Do you ever find yourself talking with someone who is obviously not listening to a single word you're saying?
They are not hearing a word you say.
Perhaps they have chosen not to listen.
Maybe you are giving them some advice that they do not wish to hear.
It feels as if you are talking to yourself.
It's as if you are talking to a brick wall.
In fact, you might as well be talking to a brick wall, as clearly the other person is not listening to a single word you say.
Oh, I give up.
Talking to you is like talking to a brick wall.
Of course, having a conversation and sharing information verbally is a great way of finding out things.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a good old chinwag.
But it is always best not to go on too much about one subject, as you run the risk of boring the other person to death.
You can tell if a person is no longer interested in what you are saying by their body language.
They will keep looking away from you.
They will just nod without replying.
They might have a pained expression on their face.
The secret of all good conversation is knowing when to stop.
Do you ever talk to yourself?
Come on, be honest.
We all talk to ourselves at some point.
We often do it when we want to reinforce a point to ourselves.
You tell yourself out loud that something must be done.
Frustration or anger can cause us to talk to ourselves.
Oh, why did I do that?
Why do these things always happen to me?
Where am I going?
I must get some milk from the supermarket.
How am I going to get out of this mess?
They say that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness.
No, it isn't.
You stupid man.
Yes, it is, I tell you.
Oh, you never listen to me.
Of course I listen to you.
Malprecious!
Well, it's time for me to change the subject now because my time is almost up.
It's time to end this lesson and give my mouth a rest.
I will stop bumping my gums.
I will zip it.
I'm going to shut my cake hole for a while.
All of those expressions are very rude and impolite.
So instead, I will simply say, thanks for watching me teaching you.
And of course, ta-ta for now.
I'm a little worried that punching someone in the teeth is a little too violent.
Perhaps I could just strangle them instead.