Starting the Conversation

"Face-to-face conversation is the most human - and humanizing - thing we do. Fully present to one another, we learn to listen. It's where we develop the capacity for empathy. It's where we experience the joy of being heard, of being understood. And conversation advances self-reflection, the conversations with ourselves that are the cornerstone of early development and continue throughout life."
- Sherry Turkle Reclaiming Coversations: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age

1. Listening Actively

2. Asking Questions

3. Expressing Ideas

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Building a Classroom Community

Voice: the unique ways that you communicate, whether through speech, writing, artwork, singing, and so on.

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​Thinking about Voice

What influences those many voices?
How you are feeling
Where you are
Whom you're with
What you are trying to say

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​You Have Many Voices

Describe 3-4 different voice you use at home, outside of home, and in school. Use the following example:

Voice #1: My Basketball Voice

Words/Phrases I Use With This Voice: "Let's Go!" "Move the Ball" "Pass it!"

When/Where/Why I Use This Voice: In practice, games, and with my teammates. It's pretty informal, and I use it to encourage others to play hard and push myself to win. I tend to shout a lot and use some specific basketball terms that some people don't know.

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​You Have Many Voices

Academic settings tend to requre a more formal voice because you need to communicate with and appeal to a wide variety of people from a range of backgrounds and cultures.

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​Your Academic Voice

These next couple weeks are designed to help you develop your academic voice and use it with confidence, so that you feel comfortable adding your ideas to the ongoing conversation in class this year.

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Next Steps