English Listening B1 Episode 06 - Track 03
Fill in the Blanks Exercise
Presenter: On today’s show we’re talking to Nancy Fleming, author of several books about
skills. She’s here to tell us all about her new book How to be a great
. Nancy, it’s great to have you on the show. Tell us, why did you decide to focus on
skills in this book?
Nancy: We have so many different ways to
these days – email, messaging apps, social media – but even with all these tools, we’re often still not very
at communicating well.
Presenter: And bad communication can often lead to
, can’t it?
Nancy: Exactly. It’s really important to
about the way that we communicate with other people – at work and out of work.
Presenter: So, what are your top
?
Nancy: Well, people can start by improving their
skills. We often think that speaking and writing are the main parts of communication, but listening is actually really
. Sometimes we’re so focused on what we want to say in a conversation that we forget to listen. A good communicator
to listen to what the other person is saying, then takes time to think about what that person has said before they
.
Presenter: OK. What else?
Nancy: Be
and don’t say too much. You should try to get your
across in as few words as possible. Talking or writing on and on about something can often make people feel
, and they might stop paying
. Keep your communication short and to the
.
Presenter: And what about
language?
Nancy: Body language is so
. We don’t just communicate
– through words – we also use our bodies and the
on our faces. In fact, one study says that body language counts for
-five percent of communication and words only count for
percent! So, it’s really important to think about body language. If you start looking out the
when someone is talking, or look at your
, they might think that you’re bored or not interested in what they’re saying.
Presenter: You said body language counts for fifty-five percent and words seven percent … What about the other
-eight percent?
Nancy:
of voice – how our voices sound. For example, do you sound friendly or
, or aggressive and
? In fact, less than
percent of communication comes from words.
Presenter: Nancy, thank you.
