How to Show Attention to Others

How to Show Attention to Others

Objectives

Students are able to show attention to others by stating the expressions correctly and appropriately.

Learn about it!

What do you say when your friend told you about his experience on the last holiday?
What do you say when someone told you about his problem?
Can you respond to that in English?

When someone is telling you about something, the proper thing to do is to listen to them talking and then to respond to what they say. This manner shows that you are paying attention to what others say and that you show respects to them. However, how do you show them that you listen to what they say? How do they know that you pay attention to what they say? What should you do in that situation? In this lesson, you will learn about how to show attention to others. Look at the following dialogue.

Example 1

Beni : Hi, Roy. What a nice jacket!
Roy : Oh, hi Beni. Thank you.
Beni: Is that new?
Roy : No, my grandfather gave me this last birthday.
Beni : I see. That’s a really nice jacket.
Roy : You’re right. It’s comfortable as well.
Beni : Cool. Your grandfather has a good taste in fashion.
Roy : I guess so.

In the dialogue above, Roy tells Beni about his jacket. In order to show Beni that he pays attention to what Beni says, Roy says “I see”. You can say this as a way to show others that you listen to what they say. Take a look at another example below.
 

Example 2

Ranti gets a scholarship to college. He told his mother about it.
Ranti : Mum, mum….!
Mother : I'm up here. What’s wrong, honey?
Ranti : Mum, you know what?
Mother : What is it? You look so happy and excited.
Ranti : The announcement from the university I applied to was released this morning. My name was there and I got a scholarship for the whole semester.
Mother : Really? That's excellent. Congratulations honey! I'm so proud of you.
Ranti : Thanks Mum. I'm really happy right now.
Mother : I’m happy for you too. Let’s have dinner to celebrate it.
Ranti : That’s a good idea, mum. Thanks.

In the dialogue above, Ranti tells her mother that she just got the announcement that she is accepted into the university that she applied to with full scholarships. What does Ranti’s mother say to show Ranti that she listens to her? The last sentence said by Ranti’s mother suggests that she pays attention to what Ranti says. Her mother says “Really? That's excellent. Congratulations honey! I'm so proud of you” in order to show attention to what Ranti says. The bold phrases are another way to show attention to others.

In the following table are the expressions you can say to show attention to others. You can use these expressions to show them that you listen to what they say.

Do you understand?

The following dialogue is another example of how to use the expressions in a conversation.
Example 3
Dera : Hi, Sylvia.
Sylvia: Oh… hi, Dera.
Dera : Hey, you were absent for three days. Where were you?
Sylvia: My family and I went to Banyuwangi for my cousin’s wedding.
Dera : Nice. So, how was the party?
Sylvia: It was great, but something bad happened.
Dera : Really? What was that?
Sylvia: The bride’s father, who is my uncle, fainted during the wedding.
Dera : Oh my god. I’m sorry to hear that. Is he okay?
Sylvia: He is okay now. Thanks, Dera.
Dera : That’s a relief.

Keypoints

• By showing attention, you are also showing respect to the person you are speaking to.
• If you don't really get what people talking about, you can always say something like "really?", "that's great!", or just "wow!"
• The simplest way to show your attention is by nodding your head. It shows people that you are listening and paying attention.