Children soon learn that they have to make their points in clear and succinct language. They practice making their points of view in ways that are understandable and they learn to check for understanding.

Active listening is the underlying skill which needs to be taught.

• make clear the distinction between passive listening (often pretending or daydreaming) and actively taking in what has been said
• model active listening by paraphrasing/summarizing what the responses are
• practice paraphrasing in the group
• get the children's ideas of what makes a good listener and write them down
• have the children in pairs telling each other about their favourite things or other topic; the children then introduce each other telling the rest of the group about their partner

Children can practice being attentive to non-verbal cues during classroom meetings. They can be attune to facial expression, tone of voice, and body position.

• Speaking to a group
• Clarifying thoughts
• Synthesizing the group's ideas
• Identifying problems
• Brain storming