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Make Boring Activities Sound Interesting

4 September 2014 by Marc

speaking

Nobody’s life is amazing all the time. We all need to wait at the post office, do laundry and iron clothes. This post is to help you make your boring activities sound interesting.

Avoid Repetition

If you use the same words and phrases all the time then what you say will sound dull.

Poor example

“I went to the chemist to buy toilet paper then I went to my grandma’s house to see her and then I went to the library to return my books.”

Better Example

“I dropped by the chemist then I visited my grandma to see how she was and after that I took my books back to the library.”

The different verb choices stop the repetition. It’s still not fascinating but it’s not so bad.

Use Fillers

I have said it before: you need to use fillers to engage the people you speak to. Things like, “Oh, you know,” invite the people to whom you speak to agree with you. In their heads they are answering “Yes, I do know how it is to visit the chemist.”

Example:

“You know, I didn’t do anything special. I just dropped by the chemist and then I visited my grandma to see how she was. Oh, yeah, and Fter that I took my books back to the library.”

Turn It Around

If you did nothing exciting you could always ask the other person what they did. This might even give you the chance to ask more questions or comment on their answer.

Example:

“You know, I didn’t do anything special. I just dropped by the chemist and then I visited my grandma to see how she was. Oh, yeah, and Fter that I took my books back to the library. What did you do?”

“I went clubbing with my cousin. It was pretty good. The DJ was great.”

“Well, next time you go, would you mind if I came, too? I haven’t been clubbing for ages.”

The last question sounds like you’re inviting yourself along but really it shows that you’re interested in what the other person is saying. It also helps to move the conversation on to a different, more interesting subject. The other person may invite you out or they may not; it is their choice. If they do invite you, you can also politely refuse the invitation.

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Posted in: Speaking Tagged: boring, fillers, interesting, repetition, strategies, vocabulary

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