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Social Skills - Choosing Conversation Topics

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Social Skills / Choosing Conversation Topics

Choosing Conversation Topics

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Choosing Conversation Topics

This activity helps students understand what makes a topic good, and gives them practice at deciding what topics are good for the activity's specific participants.

Social Skills Worksheet Choosing Conversation Topics by Speech Language Pathologist Lisa Flowers

Choosing Conversation Topics

Many individuals (both neurodivergent and neurotypical alike) worry about keeping conversations going and how to select good topics for enthusiastic discussion; this activity demonstrates how to select appropriate, interesting, and relatable topics while emphasizing the vital tenets of good topics and showing how sustaining conversations requires informed choices.

A good topic of conversation involves three main tenets: the participants should find it appropriate (i.e., inoffensive), interesting, and relatable. A notable exception therein is when one participant is informing the others about a topic on which they are more well-versed or if they are telling a story. The context of who you’re speaking with and where the conversation is taking place can also provide exceptions. This handout can act as a checklist. First, the educator and student alike fill out the handout, going through each topic and marking whether or not they find a topic interesting, whether or not the topic is relatable, and whether or not it's an appropriate topic to discuss within their specific group. Good topics (i.e., those used for conversation) are those receiving checks across the board on every participant's handout.

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