日本語
한국어
简体中文
繁體中文
Italiano
español
Deutsch
Русский
In my twenty plus years of teaching English, I have spent a lot of time trying to nudge students to answer questions more deeply. Short answers are safe. It is logical people feel comfortable communicating in that way. But the truth of the matter is that it is lacking those valuable sparks that make conversation catch fire. The more information you give, the better the chance the other person will have an idea of what to say. Or maybe it brings a question to mind to keep communication moving. That is why I alwas suggest to continue after the original answer. Give some more information, or explain the reason or even an example to illustrate your point. Naturally, you can also simply ask a question.
Telling a story requires some of the same elements. The background of the story serves the purpose of giving more information, engages the listener. The facts and details of the story help bring everything to life for the listener, like the contents of your initial answer. Most storytellers like to add some more pieces of information, color if you will, to help connect deeper with the listener. As you can guess, this is like giving a reason or an example.
So let's focus on storytelling and learn how to speak more deeply but in an enjoyable way!
This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.
Todd Lowrey's Most Popular Columns
-
The time is now! Be Active when Studying English
Communicating in a foreign language can be scary. No one wants to make a mistake and feel it is emb...
Todd Lowrey
01202Sep 4, 2026 -
Hi everyone! I am new here, but that does not mean I am new teacher. In fact, I have been teaching ...
Todd Lowrey
01173Sep 1, 2026 -
A bit about me- specialized in Business English
Hi everyone! I am new here, but that does not mean I am new teacher. In fact, I have been teaching ...
Todd Lowrey
01160Sep 3, 2026 -
How storytelling relates to communication
In my twenty plus years of teaching English, I have spent a lot of time trying to nudge students to...
Todd Lowrey
01136Sep 8, 2026
People who read this post also read ...
-
なんと今週のコラムのテーマが「語学学習にお勧めな映画やドラマ」ですと！いや〜ん。せっかくなので私が考える「イタリア語学習にお勧めな映画やドラマ一般」とは！？について書いちゃいます。いまのところ唯一お...
ARI T.
213333Aug 30, 2021 -
中西由莉香と申します。少し前にカフェトークにて講師を始めさせていただきました。大学時代に英検一級を取り、都内私立中高一貫校にて七年間英語講師を務めておりました。今日はそんな私が普段どのように英語と触...
Yurika NK
01910Jul 19, 2026 -
『JLPT N1ってどのくらいのレベル？小5の息子に解かせて分かったリアルな難易度』
こんにちは。日本語講師のまどかです。先日とあるLINEグループ（国際結婚やカップルの話題がテーマ）で日本語能力試験（JLPT）の話題が出ていました。N1の試験問題のリンクが貼られていて、「高校の国語...
Madoka.W
01261Sep 7, 2026 -
こんにちは(≧▽≦) カフェトーク開講５日目、新人中国語講師です！ 実は…私は三か月前から、「ドイツ語を独学で学ぼう」と挑戦しています。スキマ時間を利用して単語を暗記したり、文法書を読んだり、毎日...
Nyanko.W
01029Sep 5, 2026
Comments (0)