Being Understood: Clear Speech Repair Strategies
Seven scenarios about what to do when a listener does not understand you, from slowing down to spelling a key word.
Someone says "Huh?" after you talk. What is a good first step?
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Read each scenario and let the student choose. After each, practise the strategy aloud: say a sentence quickly, then slowly; say it once, then rephrase it; spell the first letter of a tricky word. Build a short list of the student's own go-to strategies in order: slow down first, then say it another way, then spell or show.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentRead the situation and wait for the student to choose and say the strategy on their own.Log as correct
- Question promptAsk 'What could make it easier for them to understand you?'Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two strategies, such as slowing down or saying it another way, and ask which fits.Log as cued
- ModelShow the strategy in a short role-play, then run the moment again so the student can try it.Log as cued
Adjust it
Practise one strategy at a time, starting with slowing down, before mixing them.
Role-play a listener who still misunderstands after the first strategy, so the student needs a second one.
Matching IEP goal
When a listener signals a breakdown, Student will use a repair strategy such as slowing rate, rephrasing or spelling a key word in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Seven situations where a listener does not catch what the student said: someone saying huh, a repeat that still does not work, one word that keeps getting missed, a noisy phone line, a class presentation, words running together when excited, and a listener who simply does not respond. Each has three options and one strategy that helps the listener. It suits secondary students whose speech is sometimes hard for unfamiliar listeners to follow, who benefit from a toolkit of repairs to use in the moment.
What to listen for
Notice whether the student's first instinct is to give up with never mind. That is common for students who have been asked to repeat themselves often, and having a plan makes repeating feel less frustrating. Listen during practice for whether slowing down also brings the final sounds of words back.
Carrying it home
When you do not catch something your teen says, name the strategy that would help, such as can you say it another way, rather than just what. Praise it when they repair without being asked. Talk about which listeners are hardest, such as the phone, and plan a strategy for those.
What's in this activity
- Someone says "Huh?" after you talk. What is a good first step?
- Say it again a little slower
- Say it louder and faster
- Say never mind
- You repeat it slower and they still don't understand. What could you try next?
- Repeat the exact same thing faster
- Say it a different way with other words
- Walk away
- The person keeps missing one word. What could you do?
- Skip that word
- Get annoyed
- Spell the first letter or the whole word
- You are talking on the phone and the line is noisy. What could help?
- Move somewhere quieter and speak a bit slower
- Talk faster to finish quickly
- Hang up without saying anything
- You are giving a class presentation. What helps listeners understand you?
- Read as fast as you can
- Face the audience and pause between ideas
- Talk toward the screen
- Your words run together when you are excited. What could you remind yourself?
- Talk even faster
- Stop talking
- Slow down and finish the ends of words
- A listener doesn't respond after you speak. What could you ask?
- Did that make sense or should I say it another way?
- Why aren't you listening?
- Nothing
Questions
- Who is this for?
- Students in grades 6 through 12 working on intelligibility, self-monitoring and conversational repair, including students with speech sound or motor speech differences.
- Is it the speaker's job alone to be understood?
- No. Communication goes both ways, and listeners can help too. These strategies give the student options when they want them.
- Is it free?
- Yes. It plays free in the browser with no login. An account adds session data, goal scoring and assignment to a student.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.