Listener Strategies
Resolve Speech Therapy · Dysarthria series
This one's for the communication partner — the person listening, not just the person speaking. Tap a heading to open or close it.
Information flows in both directions in a conversation. It's not just about speaking — it's also about listening and understanding.
We all want our thoughts to be heard and valued. Extending the same courtesy back means listening actively — to the words, the body language, and the feelings of the person you're talking with.
Dysarthria therapy often focuses on what the speaker needs to do to be understood. But communication takes two.
By being patient, giving time, using non-verbal cues, and asking clarifying questions, you — as the listener — can make a real difference to how well a conversation goes.
Not every strategy will suit every person or every situation. Try a few and see what works for you both.
Eleven strategies you can try. Tap one to see how it works.
💥 Communication breakdowns
Before trying the strategies, it can help to reflect on where things tend to go wrong.
- Reduce distractions and background noise where you can
- Turn off the TV or radio while your partner is speaking
- In a noisy environment, be mindful this makes it harder for your partner to be understood
- Make sure you're in a good position for the conversation
- Try to be face to face
- Make sure you can see their mouth when they're speaking
- Check the lighting is good enough
- Speaking can take more effort and more time for your partner
- Resist the urge to jump in or finish their sentences
- Let them finish at their own pace
- Stay patient — speaking may be more effortful for your partner
- They may find it harder to communicate if they feel under pressure
- If you don't understand, gently ask them to repeat themselves
- If you understood part of it, repeat that part back so they only need to repeat the rest
- This can reduce frustration for both of you
- Repeat back what you think they said
- This gives them a chance to confirm or correct you
- It helps catch misunderstandings early, before the conversation moves on
- If a word or phrase is tricky, ask them to write down the first letter, the word, or the key piece of information
- This gives you another way in when speech alone isn't landing
- Agree on a simple signal in advance for "I didn't understand" — like raising a finger
- It's a quick, gentle way to flag it without disrupting the flow of conversation
- Encourage your partner to gesture too — pointing at what they mean can help a lot
- Pretending to understand can lead to more confusion and frustration later
- It's kinder in the long run to gently say you're having difficulty and ask them to repeat or clarify
- If your partner has strategies from their speech therapist, gently remind them to use one
- Try reminding them of a time it worked well, rather than correcting them in the moment
- Keep it supportive, not corrective
- Be genuine — authenticity matters for their confidence and motivation
- Be specific about what worked: "I understood you when you used your loud voice"
- Acknowledge small wins and thank them for their patience
- Use positive body language — nodding, smiling — as encouragement without words
Build your plan
Now that you've tried a few strategies, work together to agree an order — which one you'll reach for first, and when.
| Order | Strategy | When? |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Quiet environment | Always |
| 2nd | Patience | Always |
| 3rd | Give time | Always |
| 4th | Ask for repetition | As soon as I don't understand |
| 5th | Confirm what I've heard | After my partner has spoken, to check I've understood correctly |
Tick off the days you used each strategy this week.
How well did the strategies work this week?
What worked well?
Which strategies made the biggest difference this week?
What was challenging?
Anything that didn't go so well, or that felt harder to put into practice?
📧 Email your session notes
Enter your therapist's email address. We'll open Gmail in a new tab with your notes ready to send.
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