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Problem solving

1. Do you like solving problems? 2. Do you need to fix many problems in your job? 3. What is the biggest problem in your life right now? 4. What is the best way to solve problems? 5. Who do you speak to when you have a problem? 6. Can you stay calm when you have a problem? 7. What are some problems in your country? 8. Do you like puzzles?

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Can you solve the passcode riddle?

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Can you solve the stolen rubies riddle?

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Vocabulary: cove secluded float shore anchor lighthouse greenhouse handsaw hammer power tool nail board (noun) ton land sick biomass canoe paddle real estate prosper fulfilled

Expressions: subsistence living hon

Vocabulary: word word word word word word word word word

Expressions: expression expression expression expression

Vocabulary: prestigious involuntary swindler fraudulence unwarranted concern unfounded impostor syndrome faculty pervasive prevalent disproportionately underrepresented downplay abnormality self-esteem spiral accolade threshold susceptible voice (verb) peer dismiss excel ease mentor competence banish frank

Expressions: nagging doubt shake a feeling put something to rest surefire way

Vocabulary: filmmaker principle handcuff clown distill underdog aspect familiar unfamiliar chopsticks keyboard organic grounded clarity stuntman steady gag perfectionist rhythm distinct continuity elbow bunch flail around unlike invincible impressive humanize asset payoff relentlessness finale

Expressions: kick ass going above and beyond get smacked in the face sell a joke

Vocabulary: explosion smoke (noun) engine unique pilot route unemotional terror instant reach out (to someone) postpone urgency purpose regret humanity ego reflect eliminate frame (verb) artistic talent bawl miracle

Expressions: bucket list brace for impact mend fences make sense connecting dots

ESL Conversation Questions

ESL Conversation Questions

Questions That Will Make You Speak

50 ESL Conversation Questions about Challenges

  • What is a challenge you faced recently?
  • How do you define the term “challenge”?
  • Do you enjoy taking on challenges? Why or why not?
  • Can you think of any common challenges people face in their daily lives?
  • What strategies do you use to overcome challenges?
  • Have you ever faced a challenge that seemed impossible to overcome? How did you handle it?
  • Do you think challenges are necessary for personal growth? Why or why not?
  • How do you feel when you successfully overcome a challenge?
  • Can you recall a time when facing a challenge made you feel proud of yourself?
  • Are there any challenges you are currently working on overcoming?
  • What are some common challenges people face in their professional lives?
  • How do you handle challenges that arise in your work or studies?
  • Have you ever taken on a challenge that pushed you outside of your comfort zone? What was it, and what did you learn from the experience?
  • What role does perseverance play in overcoming challenges?
  • Are there any cultural or societal challenges that you find particularly important or interesting?
  • How do you support others who are facing challenges?
  • Can you share an example of a challenge that taught you an important life lesson?
  • How do you stay motivated when facing long-term challenges?
  • How do you differentiate between a challenge and an obstacle?
  • Have you ever used creative problem-solving to overcome a challenge? Explain.
  • What are the emotional or psychological challenges people commonly experience?
  • How do you handle setbacks or failures when facing a challenge?
  • Can you think of a challenge that helped you develop a new skill or talent?
  • How do you manage time effectively when facing multiple challenges?
  • Have you ever faced a challenge that required collaboration with others? How did you navigate it?
  • What are some personal challenges you have set for yourself?
  • How do you handle the fear of failure when taking on a challenge?
  • Can you share an example of a challenge you faced that required you to be resourceful and creative?
  • How do you prioritize your challenges and decide which ones to tackle first?
  • Have you ever sought help or guidance from others when facing a challenge? How did it impact the outcome?
  • Can you think of a challenge that helped you develop stronger problem-solving skills?
  • How do you maintain a positive mindset when facing difficult challenges?
  • Can you share an example of a challenge that required you to adapt to new circumstances or environments?
  • What are the long-term benefits of overcoming challenges?
  • Have you ever faced a challenge related to time management? How did you address it?
  • How do you stay resilient and bounce back from setbacks when facing challenges?
  • Can you think of a challenge that required you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new?
  • How do you handle the pressure that comes with taking on significant challenges?
  • Can you share an example of a challenge that tested your patience and perseverance?
  • How do you balance taking on challenges with self-care and avoiding burnout?
  • Have you ever faced a cultural or language-related challenge? How did you overcome it?
  • Can you think of a challenge that helped you develop stronger leadership skills?
  • How do you handle challenges that involve making difficult decisions?
  • Can you share an example of a challenge that required you to think critically and analyze different perspectives?
  • What are some environmental or global challenges that concern you?
  • How do you stay focused and maintain your motivation when facing a long-term challenge?
  • Can you think of a challenge that forced you to confront your fears or insecurities?
  • How do you manage stress when facing multiple challenges simultaneously?
  • Can you share an example of a challenge that tested your resilience and determination?
  • What advice would you give to someone who is currently facing a significant challenge?
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  • What's the worst problem you have ever had?
  • What is your first reaction to problems? Do you panic/ analyze it/ run to someone to talk and get help?
  • Are you quick at solving your problems or does it take you quite a time to think of a solution?
  • When do you usually refer to a consultant? To what extent do you trust them?
  • Is there anyone who is always ready to help you with your problems?
  • Do you usually help people with their problems?
  • Are you creative in problem solving?
  • Can you think of any techniques to help you improve your problem solving skills and abilities?
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problem solving conversation topics

Adult ESL Lesson: Problems, Advice, and Suggestions (Intermediate)

This intermediate adult ESL lesson features warm-up questions and a reading passage, followed by a critical thinking activity and discussion questions.

Download lesson as pdf

Problems, Advice, and Suggestions

  • What personal problems do you have right now?
  • What problems have you had in the past?
  • Have you ever asked anyone for advice about your personal problems? Who did you ask? What did they suggest?
  • Has anyone ever asked you for advice about a personal problem?
  • What was their problem? What did you suggest?

Read about eight people and their personal problems:

  • John can’t sleep at night. He has tried to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier, but he can’t. He often has trouble sleeping at night. When he finally can sleep, it is usually very late, so he feels tired the next day.
  • Susan doesn’t have enough free time to be with her boyfriend. She and her boyfriend both work at the hospital. The problem is, they both work different shifts at different times. This makes it hard for them to find time to be together.
  • Gary wants a promotion and a raise at work. Gary has worked at the same company for ten years. He likes his job but he feels he is ready for more responsibility.
  • Barbara wants to get better grades in school. She gets B’s right now in most of her classes at high school. She would like to get A’s.
  • Peter wants to learn how to drive. All his friends learned how to drive at driving school. Now, they all have their driver’s license and he feels a little jealous.
  • Kathy wants more privacy at home. She lives with her parents and her younger brother and sister. She has to share a bedroom with her sister and she feels like she doesn’t have enough privacy.
  • Michael wants to quit smoking. He is thirty-two years old and has smoked for fifteen years. He usually only smokes when he goes out with his friends and after he has dinner. He likes to have a cigarette at these times.
  • Jerry wants to lose weight. He is one hundred eighty centimeters tall. He weighs one hundred and ten kilograms. He would like to weigh ninety kilograms.

Who has which problem? Write their name next to their problem:

School grades: Overweight: Driving: Smoking: Schedule problems: Work: Privacy: Insomnia:

Can you think of some advice for these people? How can they solve their problems? Write your suggestions and advice below:

Advice for John:

Advice for Susan:

Advice for Gary:

Advice for Barbara:

Advice for Peter:

Advice for Kathy:

Advice for Michael:

Advice for Jerry:

Discussion Questions:

  • How much sleep do you usually get each night?
  • Do you ever have trouble sleeping? What do you do about it?
  • Do you have enough free time?
  • How do you usually spend your free time?
  • What indoor activities do you like to do?
  • What outdoor activities do you like to do?
  • Did you ever get a promotion or a raise at work?
  • Would you like to have more or less responsibility in your life? Why?
  • How were your grades in school? Do you like to take tests? Why?
  • Which subjects were your favorites? Why?
  • Which subjects didn’t you like? Why?
  • Do you know how to drive? How did you learn?
  • Do you like driving? Why?
  • Do you have enough privacy?
  • Did you ever have to share a bedroom?
  • Do you know anyone who smokes? How do you feel about smoking?
  • Why do people smoke? Why is it hard for smokers to quit?
  • How much do you weigh? How tall are you? Are you overweight, underweight, or are you just right?

Related Posts

Adult esl lesson: urban problems (intermediate), adult esl lesson: transportation (intermediate), adult esl lesson: restaurants (intermediate).

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  • Business English
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  • B2 speaking

Dealing with a problem

In this video, Vanya goes to Yuna with a problem. Listen to the language they use for dealing with a problem and practise saying the useful phrases.

Do the preparation exercise first. Then watch the video and do the exercises to check your understanding and practise the language.

Preparation

Speaking B2: Dealing with a problem – preparation

Ana : Hi! I'm Ana. Welcome to What to Say ! 

Do you know what to say when you need to deal with a problem? Listen out for useful language for dealing with a problem. Then, we'll practise saying the new phrases – after this.

Vanya : Yuna!

Yuna : Oh, morning!

Vanya : I've got a bit of a problem. 

Yuna : What's wrong?

Vanya : Can we talk in private?

Yuna : Of course.

Yuna : Right, so, what's the matter? 

Vanya : Well, I've made a mistake. A big mistake.

Yuna : OK. I'm sure we can work it out.

Vanya : It was such a silly thing to do! 

Yuna : I'm getting worried now. What's going on here? 

Vanya : OK. It was late last night and I was tired. I wasn't concentrating and I accidentally used my company credit card instead of my own to buy something! 

Yuna : Don't worry, these things happen. There's a procedure to deal with this. How much did you spend? 

Vanya : It was quite expensive.

Yuna : How expensive?

Vanya : It was very expensive.

Yuna : Vanya, how expensive?

Vanya : £3,782 … and 56 pence.

Yuna : What? You spent £3,782?! 

Vanya : … and 56 pence. 

Yuna : What was it? Vanya?

Vanya : Just a weekend break! I just like a really nice hotel!

Yuna : OK, I see. Thanks for letting me know.

Vanya : Ah! I feel so much better now I've told you. Please don't tell Noelia.

Yuna : Oh, I'm definitely going to tell her!

Noelia : Hi!

Vanya : Hi!

Ana : Hello again! Wow, that's a lot of money for a weekend break. So, did you notice the useful phrases used for dealing with a problem? Listen to me and then repeat. 

What's wrong?

I've got a bit of a problem.

Could we talk in private?

What's the matter?

I've made a mistake.

I'm sure we can work it out.

Don't worry, these things happen.

Thanks for letting me know.

I feel so much better now I've told you.

Ana : Try and use some of these phrases the next time you need to deal with a problem in English. Bye for now!

Speaking B2: Dealing with a problem – 1

Speaking B2: Dealing with a problem – 2

Speaking B2: Dealing with a problem – 3

When was the last time you helped someone with a problem at work?

Language level

Well, at work usually we deal with issues all the time. Since our job is to help others to understand a product features and functionalities, we are solving problems all the time. One of the things I like the most of my job is that we all are always available to lend a hand when it is needed.

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The last time I helped someone was yesterday. It was something related to my parents and I'm still working on that issue wish me luck!

Good luck, I hope everything is getting better.

Currently, I don't have a job, but sometimes I also help my classmates at university when they are absent. For example, I will send them the curriculum of the lesson that the teacher is teaching that day.

I used to help my coworkers, colleagues, sisters and friends dealing with their problems by giving them some tips form my experience, and reciprocally I receive help from them and i don't hesitate a second to ask for help when I'am in a tough situation. I remember once my sister have deleted all data on her phone and she didn't have a clue how to get them back, so I suggested to install a recovery application but it didn't work, i took her to a friend who has a remarkable backgound in this field and thanks to him he fixed the problem and recovered all her important data.

The last time I helped someone with a problem was at school. One of my colleagues had a hard time planning for his studies effectively, so I told him about my studying routine, hoping that it will help him know what he was doing wrong.

Today I helped my colleague and explained her how the calculation should be done.

actually i don't work yet but i used to help my classmates at the university. I sent them what the teacher mentioned in the previous lesson. Thank to that, they could complete the assignment on time.

i don´t work yet but i help my colleagues at school with their homeworks or with classes that they missed

Well the day before yesterday when there was no network in the office available. Connecting with internet provider and our IT helpdesk helped to solve the issue.

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  • Decision making and problem solving

English Conversation Questions on Decision making and problem solving

  • What are some common decision-making strategies?
  • How can you effectively weigh the pros and cons of a decision?
  • What are some common biases that can affect decision making?
  • How do you approach a problem-solving process?
  • What are some tools and techniques that can be used to facilitate decision making and problem solving?
  • How can you involve a team in the decision-making and problem-solving process?
  • What are some ways to overcome groupthink when making decisions as a team?
  • How do you make difficult decisions when there is no clear right or wrong answer?
  • What are some ways to ensure that a decision is implemented effectively?
  • How can you measure the success of a decision or problem-solving effort?
  • What are some common mistakes to avoid when making decisions or solving problems?

More English Conversation Questions on Management

  • Leadership styles
  • Goal setting and planning
  • Performance evaluation and feedback
  • Motivating and retaining employees
  • Communication and collaboration
  • Delegation and time management
  • Conflict resolution and mediation
  • Change management and innovation
  • Organizational culture and values
  • Strategic planning and execution
  • Project management and agile methods
  • Business planning and growth
  • Financial management and budgeting
  • Risk assessment and management
  • Quality management and improvement
  • Customer service and satisfaction
  • Talent acquisition and development
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion

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Talking about Problems in English

Published by my lingua academy on 12 dec 2021 12 dec 2021.

We all know what the problem is. It is a more or less difficult situation that is causing us inconvenience and stopping us from doing what we want. Here are different ways for talking about problems in English, including collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs, synonyms, and conversation questions to help you remember the new vocabulary. 

Collocations related to problems

Face/encounter/confront a problem.

If you face or encounter or confront a problem, then you are aware of it and you are trying to deal with it.

For example:

  • Today, we are facing global warming issues that must be dealt with as soon as possible.
  • When they tried to deal with the problem of discipline in their school, they encountered the problem of drugs abuse.
  • The Johnsons have been confronted with many problems since they moved to another country.

Address/tackle the problem

If you address or tackle a problem, you are trying to solve it.

  • The member of the parliament addressed the problem of human rights in the last night’s TV programme.
  • The United Nations and governments of countries all around the world are trying to tackle environmental problems.

Deal with a problem

If you are dealing with a problem, you are taking concrete actions in order to solve it.

  • Right now, our company is dealing with a problem of safety at work.
  • The police have a strategy for dealing with the problem of street riots.

Discuss/debate a problem

To discuss or debate a problem means to exchange your opinions and ideas with another person or a group of people.

  • The residents of the building discussed littering in the neighbourhood.
  • One of the most debated problems nowadays is protection against the Coronavirus.

Overcome a problem

If you overcome a problem, you succeed in dealing with it.

  • He’ll get seriously ill unless he overcomes his problem of overeating.
  • A way to overcome problems associated with online bullying is to avoid contact with strangers.

The root of the problem

This expression refers to the basic cause of a problem.

  • I believe that the root of the problem lies in his shyness.
  • The government is supposed to fight against the root of the problem, not the consequences.

Problem-solving

A  compound noun related to the process of finding a solution to a problem.

  • This course trains people in problem-solving in different situations.
  • For this position, they expect their new employee to possess good problem-solving skills.

Talking about Problems in English

Other ways to talk about a problem

a small difficulty.

  • The job in the advert looked perfect except for the hitch of a low salary. 

a similar word to hitch. It refers to a small problem or disadvantage.

  • The only snag to marriage is that you lose your freedom.

another way to say problem.

  • Maria works with children with learning difficulties.

a problem that people are discussing.

  • The scientists met to discuss environmental issues.

an obstacle that stops something from developing.

  • Dorothy has been recovering from her illness successfully except for some small setbacks. 

Complication

when the situation becomes more difficult than it was.

  • The risk of complications occurring due to side effects is reduced.

when something stands in the way of achieving something.

  • There are so many administrative obstacles that prevent workers from doing their job effectively.

a problematic or distressful situation.

  • They had a lot of trouble with that Ikea cupboard. The parts just didn’t fit in.

a difficult task that may be interesting because it tests your skills and abilities.

  • The Olympic basketball team is ready to face the challenges of the competition.

Talking about Problems in English

Phrasal verbs related to problems

to take necessary action in order to solve a problem.

  • We must deal with this problem now before it becomes bigger.
  • You have to learn how to deal with all kinds of problems if you want to progress in life.

to experience a problem unexpectedly.

  • The company ran into some serious financial problems and bankrupted in a year.
  • if you run into difficulties while operating this machine, call the mechanic immediately.

Run up against

when you have to deal with an unexpected problem.

  • After they launched the new product, they ran up against some unexpected problems.
  • When Lorna tried to talk to her husband about the problem she ran up against silence.

Knuckle down

to begin to work on something in order to solve a problem.

  • The police knuckled down to the task of investigating the details of the robbery.
  • If we knuckle down really hard, we’ll have this presentation ready by the end of next week.

Wrestle with ( a problem)

to try hard to deal with a problem or reach a difficult decision.

  • Sam had a hard time wrestling with the problems in her marriage –  should she divorce or not?
  • Sara spent most of the afternoon wrestling with her Math homework.

Talk something over

to discuss a problem with someone before making a final decision.

  • First I need to talk it over with my husband and if we decide to buy a house, we’ll contact you.
  • If you have digestion problems, you should talk it over with your doctor.

Talking about Problems in English

Idioms about problems

Be in dire straits.

a very difficult financial situation.

  • They met after the war when the country was in serious financial dire straits.
  • The company is facing dire straits so they’re going to borrow some money from a bank.

Vicious circle

when one problem causes another, which creates even more difficulties.

  • People on reduction diets often fall into a vicious circle of losing and then gaining weight again.
  • I wish the vicious circle of poverty and stagnation ends in the world.

Put your foot in it

to say something accidentally so that it causes embarrassment and distress.

  • I don’t like her at all. Oh sorry, did I put my foot in it? She’s your friend, isn’t she?
  • Paul was quick to end the conversation before he put his foot in it even more.

Come up against a (brick) wall

to get to a point when you can not go on because something is preventing you from progressing.

  • Many students come up against a brick wall when they apply for scholarships.
  • Fiona was working long hours all last week. She’d stopped only when she felt that she came up against a brick wall and couldn’t think clearly.

Fall into place

when things happen without much difficulty.

  • Once I organized my work well, everything fell into place so I had plenty of time for my leisure activities.
  • After an extremely complicated plot, everything fell into place at the end of the film.

The light at the end of the tunnel

a ray of hope after a period of worry and difficulties.

  • When the vaccine against the Coronavirus was invented, humankind could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
  • We managed to solve some really serious problems within the company and now we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Talking about Problems in English

Conversation questions for talking about problems in English

The best way to remember new vocabulary is to use it immediately. Therefore, try to discuss these questions with your English speaking partner:

  • What is the greatest challenge/problem you have faced at school or work so far? How did you overcome it?
  • Have you ever come up against a brick wall? When and what happened?
  • Do you deal with your problems by yourself or do you discuss them with someone? Who?
  • Have you ever got embarrassed by putting your foot in it?
  • Who do you usually discuss your problems with? Asking for advice?
  • Have you ever helped anyone solve their problem? Did they take your advice?
  • Do you think the problem of global warming will be solved in this century?
  • Do you think the problem of discrimination will stop existing in this century? Why/Why not?
  • Do you think the problem of poverty and financial difficulties will be solved in this century? Why? Why not?
  • How can social issues affect society?

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Vocabulary related to meetings

Business English Idioms & Expressions Phrasal Verbs Useful Phrases Verbs Vocabulary

Vocabulary related to meetings.

Hello English learners. Welcome to a new lesson. Business English can be challenging. One of the essential things is to get well-equipped with the vocabulary related to meetings. So, let’s look at words and phrases you should know: agenda, chairperson, moderator, attendee, quorum, brainstorming, deadline, to recap, to delegate, icebreaker, venue, to adjourn, as well as five phrasal verbs you need to use at meetings

Phrasal verbs with SET

Phrasal Verbs Vocabulary

11 phrasal verbs with set.

Hello English learners. Welcome to a new lesson. Today, we will look at the phrasal verbs with set: Set about, Set against, Set apart, Set aside, Set back, Set down, Set in, Set off, Set on, Set out, Set up

White idioms

Idioms & Expressions Vocabulary

16 white idioms.

Hello English learners. Welcome to a new lesson. You certainly know that white is the colour of milk or snow and that you have probably heard that someone is as white as a ghost, as white as a sheet of paper or that something is as white as snow. There are foods such as white bread, white rice, white chocolate, white sugar, white wine, etc. and people with pale skin colour are called white people. Don’t forget that if you pour some milk into your coffee, you will get white coffee.

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Conversation Questions Social Problems

Lesson Plans Digger

Problem solving speaking activity

PROBLEM-SOLVING-SPEAKING-ACTIVITY

Students work in pairs or small groups trying to find solutions to 5 different problems. It is a good opportunity to practice the second conditional ( I would…, If I were in this situation …), modal verbs    ( should, might, mustn’t etc.) and negotiating (agreeing/disagreeing/expressing your opinion/asking about your partner’s opinion).

To practice agreeing and disagreeing please see Problem Solving Part 2 ,  School Problems ,  Moral Dilemmas , Workplace Dilemmas  and Parental Decisions activities.

Personal Experience

I have used this activity both with adult and teenage students, levels intermediate – advanced. It works well as a warm-up (giving the students just one problem) to a regular class, and may also be used during conversation classes (takes around 20 mins.) Make sure to allow some time for the groups to present and compare their ideas at the end of class.

Problem Solving

I am teaching a fifth semester, Modern Languages Program, course at the university level and I found these activities are excellent to have my students speak more and more fluently. Thanks so much for posting them.

Wonderful news, Jhon! I’m so glad to hear my ideas worked out with your students as well.

I would like to take the time and THANK YOU for the ideas and for sharing this material. I am going to use it for sure. I work with teenagers who need to practice the language a lot and when given the proper topic, get engaged in a good discussion. I find your material very useful. Thanks!

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I just discovered your website, it’s amazing. Thanks so much for sharing !

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You have more power than you think.

We Have to Talk: A Step-By-Step Checklist for Difficult Conversations

By judy ringer.

[Watch a short video about difficult conversations]

Think of a conversation you’ve been putting off. Got it? Great. Then let’s go.

There are dozens of books on the topic of difficult, crucial, challenging, fierce, important (you get the idea) conversations. (In fact, I list several excellent resources at the end of this article). Those times when you know you should talk to someone, but you don’t. Maybe you’ve tried and it went badly. Or maybe you fear that talking will only make the situation worse. Still, you feel stuck, and you’d like to free up that stuck energy for more useful purposes.

What you have here is a brief synopsis of best practice strategies: a checklist of action items to think about before going into the conversation; some useful concepts to practice during the conversation; and some tips and suggestions to help you stay focused and flowing in general, including possible conversation openings.

You’ll notice one key theme throughout: you have more power than you think .

Working on Yourself: How To Prepare for the Conversation

Before going into the conversation, ask yourself some questions:

  • What is your purpose for having the conversation? What do you hope to accomplish? What would be an ideal outcome? Watch for hidden purposes. You may think you have honorable goals, like educating an employee or increasing connection with your teen, only to notice that your language is excessively critical or condescending. You think you want to support, but you end up punishing. Some purposes are more useful than others. Work on yourself so that you enter the conversation with a supportive purpose.  
  • What assumptions are you making about this person’s intentions?  You may feel intimidated, belittled, ignored, disrespected, or marginalized, but be cautious about assuming that this was the speaker’s intention. Impact does not necessarily equal intent.  
  • What “buttons” of yours are being pushed? Are you more emotional than the situation warrants? Take a look at your “backstory,” as they say in the movies. What personal history is being triggered? You may still have the conversation, but you’ll go into it knowing that some of the heightened emotional state has to do with you.  
  • How is your attitude toward the conversation influencing your perception of it? If you think this is going to be horribly difficult, it probably will be. If you truly believe that whatever happens, some good will come of it, that will likely be the case. Try to adjust your attitude for maximum effectiveness.  
  • Who is the opponent? What might they be thinking about this situation? Are they aware of the problem?  If so, how do you think they perceive it? What are their needs and fears? What solution do you think they would suggest? Begin to reframe the opponent as partner.  
  • What are your needs and fears? Are there any common concerns? Could there be?  
  • How have you contributed to the problem? How has the other person?

 4 Steps to a Successful Outcome

The majority of the work in any conflict conversation is work you do on yourself. No matter how well the conversation begins, you’ll need to stay in charge of yourself, your purpose and your emotional energy. Breathe, center, and continue to notice when you become off center–and choose to return again. This is where your power lies. By choosing the calm, centered state, you’ll help your opponent/partner to be more centered, too.  Centering is not a step; centering is how you are as you take the steps. (For more on Centering, see the Resource section at the end of the article.)

Step #1: Inquiry

Cultivate an attitude of discovery and curiosity. Pretend you don’t know anything (you really don’t), and try to learn as much as possible about your opponent/partner and their point of view. Pretend you’re entertaining a visitor from another planet, and find out how things look on that planet, how certain events affect the other person, and what the values and priorities are there.

If your partner really was from another planet, you’d be watching body language and listening for unspoken energy as well. Do that here. What does this person really want? What are they not saying?

Let your partner talk until they’re finished. Don’t interrupt except to acknowledge. Whatever you hear, don’t take it personally. It’s not really about you. Try to learn as much as you can in this phase of the conversation. You’ll get your turn, but don’t rush things. 

Step #2: Acknowledgment

Acknowledgment means showing that you’ve heard and understood. Try to understand the other person so well you can make the argument for them. Then do it. Explain back to them what you think they’re going for. Guess at their hopes and honor their position. Your partner will not change unless they see that you see where they stand. Then they might. No guarantees.

Acknowledge whatever you can, including your own defensiveness if it comes up. It’s fine; it just is. You can decide later how to address it. For example, in an argument with a friend, I said: “I notice I’m becoming defensive, and I think it’s because your voice just got louder and sounded angry. I just want to talk about this topic. I’m not trying to persuade you in either direction.” The acknowledgment helped my friend (and me) to re-center.

Acknowledgment can be difficult if we associate it with agreement. Keep them separate. My saying, “this sounds really important to you,” doesn’t mean I’m going to go along with your decision.

Step #3: Advocacy

When you sense your opponent/partner has expressed all their energy on the topic, it’s your turn. What can you see from your perspective that they missed? Help clarify your position without minimizing theirs. For example: “From what you’ve told me, I can see how you came to the conclusion that I’m not a team player. And I think I am. When I introduce problems with a project, I’m thinking about its long-term success. I don’t mean to be a critic, though perhaps I sound like one. Maybe we can talk about how to address these issues so that my intention is clear.”

Step #4: Problem-Solving

Now you’re ready to begin building solutions. Brainstorming and continued inquiry are useful here. Ask your opponent/partner what they think might work. Whatever you hear, find something you like and build on it. If the conversation becomes adversarial, go back to inquiry. Asking for the other’s point of view usually creates safety and encourages them to engage. If you’ve been successful in centering, adjusting your attitude, and engaging with inquiry and useful purpose, building sustainable solutions will be easy.

Tips and Suggestions

  • A successful outcome will depend on two things: how you are and what you say. How you are (centered, supportive, curious, problem-solving) will greatly influence what you say.
  • Acknowledge emotional energy–yours and your partner’s–and direct it toward a useful purpose.
  • Know and return to your purpose at difficult moments.
  • Don’t take verbal attacks personally. Help your partner come back to center.
  • Don’t assume your partner can see things from your point of view.
  • Practice the conversation with a friend before holding the real one.
  • Mentally practice the conversation. See various possibilities and visualize yourself handling them with ease. Envision the outcome you are hoping for.

How Do I Begin?

In my workshops, a common question is How do I begin the conversation? Here are a few conversation openers I’ve picked up over the years–and used many times!

  • I have something I’d like to discuss with you that I think will help us work together more effectively. 
  • I’d like to talk about _______ with you, but first I’d like to get your point of view.
  • I need your help with what just happened. Do you have a few minutes to talk?
  • I need your help with something. Can we talk about it (soon)? If the person says, “Sure, let me get back to you,” be sure to follow up.
  • I think we have different perceptions about _________________.  I’d like to hear your thinking on this.
  • I’d like to talk about _____________.  I think we may have different ideas about how to ________________.
  • I’d like to see if we might reach a better understanding about ___________. I really want to hear your feelings about this and share my perspective as well.
  • I’ve noticed a recurring conversation (conflict, disagreement, problem) we seem to have. I’d like to talk about why that happens.
  • I’d like to talk with you about some things I’ve noticed over the last little while. I have some observations I’d like to share with you and some of the conclusions I’m starting to draw, and then I’d be really interested in hearing your perspective.

Write a possible opening for your conversation before you have it to make sure you’ve thought through everything you want to say.

Good luck! Let me know if this article has been useful by contacting me at https://www.judyringer.com

Download the pdf version of We Have to Talk: A Step-By-Step Checklist for Difficult Conversations

The Magic of Conflict , by Thomas F. Crum Difficult Conversations , by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen  Crucial Conversations , by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler Conversations Worth Having , by Jackie Stavros and Cheri Torres FAQ about Conflict , by Judy Ringer

—————————————© 2022 Judy Ringer, Power & Presence Training

About the Author

The Power & Presence website is designed to help you discover ways to resolve conflict, build relationships, and become a more powerful and present human being. 

Judy Ringer  is the author.

You’re welcome to reprint all or parts of this article as long as you include “About the Author” text, and a link to PowerandPresence.com

  • We Have to Talk: A Step-by-Step Checklist for Difficult Conversations
  • Feedback or Criticism? A Toolbox for Dealing with Criticism in the Workplace
  • Top 6 Ineffective Leadership Traits
  • Conflict Resolution for Kids: Breathe, Learn, Talk
  • Fear of Failure and the Art of Ukemi: 3 Lessons from Aikido
  • Purposeful Communication
  • Being Heard: 6 Strategies for Getting Your Point Across
  • Frequently Asked Questions About Aikido, Centering, Conflict and Communication
  • Difficult People: 3 Questions to Help You Turn Your Tormentors into Teachers
  • Aikido, Resistance, and Flawless Consulting
  • Tips and Strategies for Workplace Conflict: An Interview with Judy Ringer
  • Are You Worried? 4 Steps to Peace of Mind
  • Taking Myself Too Seriously: Suggestions for Reclaiming Perspective
  • How to Keep a Good Employee: Look, Listen, Learn
  • Conquering Performance Anxiety: A 6-Step Checklist
  • The Art of Listening
  • Hidden Gifts: What Aikido Can Teach Us About Conflict
  • The Manager as Mediator: First Manage You
  • Six-Step Checklist for Holding Powerful Conversations

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Aikido is the metaphor we use to help you be more intentional with your ki , communicate purposefully, and create your life and work from center.

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Public Speaking Resources

80+ Problem Solution Speech Topics

A problem/solution speech takes the approach of highlighting an issue with the intent to provide solutions. It is a two-phase approach where first the speaker lays out the problem and explains the importance. Secondly, a variety of solutions are provided to tackle the said issue. The best solutions are those that can be actively applied.

The first problem to tackle is picking a topic. It is a good idea to pick something topical but then again, the world just supplies so many options that it can be overwhelming.

When you are assigned to write a problem-solution essay or research paper, choosing a good topic is the first dilemma you need to work out. 

The world is full of issues that need to be resolved. However, it is not sufficient to simply pick a subject because it is topical. Ideally, you should pick a subject that is important to you on some level as well. Speaking about an issue you care about brings out an irreplicable passion that people are sure to respond to. If you’re still confused, we have included a wide variety of topics so that you can pick one that calls out to you.

Let’s get started!

Problem Solution Speech Topics

Table of Contents

  • Introduction: 
  • Thesis Statement: 
  • Cause/Effect: 
  • Call to Action: 

Problem Solution Method

Comparative advantage method, social issues, environment, relationships, wrapping up, problem/solution speech outline.

Before we jump into the topics, it can be handy to understand the speech structure of a problem-solution speech. Understanding how to approach a speech script can have an effect on the topic you pick. Oftentimes, we are confident we can speak about a subject but once we begin the draft, we realize we don’t actually have that much to say.

So take a good look at what elements you need to include in your problem/solution speech:

Introduction:  

The introduction is a key part of any speech. This is where you will try to grab the audience’s attention, establish the problem statement, and highlight your key points. It is in your introduction that you will need to explain why the presented issue is an issue. The objective is to convince the audience that the problem at hand is one that requires attention.

If you need help with effective attention-grabbers, you can browse our article on 12 Effective Attention-Grabbers for your speech .

Thesis Statement:  

The thesis statement is where you will present the problem you are about to tackle. Typically the problem is laid out in the form of a question. You will also be talking about your stance on the presented problem.

Cause/Effect:  

Before you launch into giving solutions after highlighting the problem, you need to explain the gravity of the problem at hand. You can do so by explaining what negative consequences occur due to said problem. The more you personalize the effects, the more likely you are to capture their attention.

Solution:  

Once you talk about all the negative impacts of the presented problem, it is time to give the audience the solutions. Explain all the solutions step-by-step and talk about the evidence why the said solution will work. Make sure not to give solutions that are too vague. If there are common misconceptions about the solutions, address them as well. Discuss both pros and cons of the proposed solutions and explain why the pros outweigh the cons.

Call to Action:  

The most important part of a problem/solution type speech is the call to action. This is when you encourage the audience to take the necessary steps to solve the problem. You can do so by painting a picture of the expected results of your proposed solutions. Don’t end on a vague note that sounds like “Together, we can.” Instead, give actionable steps, such as “I encourage each and every one of you to go home and separate your recycling trash.”

Problem/Solution Presentation Techniques

There is more than one way to present a problem/solution model. You might want to look into these techniques to switch up your speaking style.

The classic take is best used for taking a stance against a social or current issue. In such a case, you will highlight a known issue and suggest probable solutions for it. You can approach this method by informing the audience about the issue, a brief history, all geared to explain why the topic is a problem in the first place.

Follow that up by describing an ideal condition without the said issue. Once you create a tempting picture, offer up more than one solution that is applicable to the situation. Explain the hurdles and how they can be overcome. Make sure it is clear that you’ve thought about the problem from both sides of the issue.

Comparative advantage models are useful when tackling a problem that seems to be at an impasse. It is when an issue is well known and has multiple fixes with their own group of supporters. Here, you can take a comparative approach to show the pros and cons of all the different solutions. The key difference is that the general consensus is already there about the importance of tackling the problem, but only the correct solution needs to be selected.

Problem-Solution Speech Topics

Here is our extensive list of problem/solution speech topics:

  • Adopting dogs is more ethical than getting a new puppy.
  • How education can solve generational poverty.
  • Tackling anxiety by adopting a pet.
  • Ebooks over books to save the environment.
  • One-child policy: unethical but effective.
  • Donating as a solution to fight global poverty.
  • Do your part, go vegan to fight world hunger.
  • Keep wikipedia alive for free information with donations.
  • Kindness can begin with a compliment.
  • What can we do to ensure government sanctions against companies using child labor?
  • Sorting out your waste and what it can do for the environment.
  • The necessary switch to bicycles to tackle pollution.
  • Why encouraging volunteering at an early age can produce better citizens.
  • High time to make the switch to solar and wind energy.
  • Self-driving cars are the future of road safety.
  • Bike lanes and bike laws enhance traffic safety.
  • Effective gun sales management can help reduce reckless deaths.
  • Normalize selling colored dolls in all shapes and sizes to promote confidence in children.
  • How data became the new oil?
  • How to stay private in an increasingly social world?
  • Why is high-speed internet still not considered a basic need for rural areas?
  • Ethical hacking and why is there a draw to it?
  • Digital payments and how to guarantee security.
  • Change your passwords. Why your data is in danger!
  • Self-driving vehicles, should we handover 100% of the control?
  • Have lithium batteries on mobile phones already reached their peak?
  • How can technology promote the use of renewable energy?
  • How to keep up with the overwhelming news cycle?
  • How can we destigmatize video game addiction?
  • How can we shift education to a virtual platform?
  • How to smoothen the transition from home-schooling to college.
  • What are some new methods to tackle the rampant cheating on exams?
  • How can we reduce the illiteracy rate?
  • It’s high time to end bullying in schools.
  • How to normalize homesickness as a problem and tackle it?
  • Education is not enough, students need life management skills.
  • Is accessibility to quality education sufficient currently?
  • How can we guarantee sufficient pay for quality teachers?
  • How can problem-solving be taught in schools?
  • Is detention an effective solution for disruptive students?
  • How you can help your suicidal friend.
  • Are we doing enough to improve standardized test score results?
  • Effective ways to increase attention in class.
  • How can we make sex education mandatory in public schools?
  • Creative ways to get students to love maths.
  • Does looking at the stars stimulate brain activity?
  • How can we tackle the growing obesity epidemic?
  • How spending time outdoors can boost your mood.
  • The Pomodoro Technique and why it works for productivity.
  • Can meditation be the answer to growing stress?
  • Can we incentivize smokers to give up smoking?
  • How to increase responsibility for fatal hospital errors?
  • Fitness apps and how it can benefit health.
  • How augmented reality glasses can be a gamechanger for people with disabilities.
  • How does taking baths reduce stress and anxiety?
  • Burnout: the need to go offline.
  • Better posture to tackle back pain.
  • Does reading out loud help improve critical thinking?
  • Child obesity: a preventable evil.
  • Encouraging more greens to help children improve their memory.
  • How global pollution can be tackled locally.
  • Climate change. Why it is too late and what can still be done.
  • Does lower room temperature really help reduce energy consumption?
  • How to do our part in preserving natural resources?
  • Is it time to stop depending on fossil fuels?
  • How to preserve wildlife from going extinct?
  • Are current environmental laws sufficient to keep it protected?
  • Improving public transport to reduce the number of private cars.
  • How can we upgrade our transportation to be more sustainable?
  • Why hunting should be illegal in any circumstances.
  • It is high time to replace plastic. What are our options?
  • Is it enough to make alternative energy affordable?
  • Signs of a toxic relationship.
  • How to pull yourself out of an emotionally abusive relationship.
  • Should parents be allowed to control teens’ social media accounts?
  • How to manage expectations in a relationship?
  • Recognize negative people and take active steps to avoid them.
  • How to help domestic violence victims?
  • Why it is pointless to try changing someone.
  • How to say “no” in a way that they listen?
  • How to maintain a work-life balance in today’s world.
  • Why couples counseling needs to stop being taboo.
  • Is it possible to bridge the gap across different races and cultures?
  • How technology is capitalizing on the growing need for human contact.
  • Long-distance relationships. Can you make it work?
  • Modern-day relationships and how expectations have changed.

A problem/solution speech is a great topic as it falls under the informational category. As such, it is much easier to capture the audience’s attention. In terms of delivery, make sure you sell the problem before handing out the solution. Following the above outline and tips paired with your amazing content, we are sure you will be able to win over any audience with ease. Make sure you do your research well and triple-check your sources. All that is left to do is practice. See you on the stage!

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Article • 8 min read

Role-Playing

Preparing for difficult conversations and situations.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

problem solving conversation topics

Think back to the last time you prepared for an important meeting.

Perhaps you needed to convince a prospective client to do business with your organization. Or maybe you had to present to executive board members, and you knew that they would be peppering you with questions about your proposal.

Whatever the situation, chances are that you were nervous about the meeting; and practicing in front of a mirror may not have helped you overcome your anxiety, especially with respect to answering difficult questions.

This is where role-playing can be useful. In this article, we'll look at what it is, and we'll see how you and your team can use this technique to prepare for a variety of challenging and difficult situations.

Uses and Benefits

Role-playing takes place between two or more people, who act out roles to explore a particular scenario.

It's most useful to help you or your team prepare for unfamiliar or difficult situations. For example, you can use it to practice sales meetings, interviews, presentations , or emotionally difficult conversations, such as when you're resolving conflict .

By acting scenarios like these out, you can explore how other people are likely to respond to different approaches; and you can get a feel for approaches that are likely to work, and for those that might be counter-productive. You can also get a sense of what other people are likely to be thinking and feeling in the situation.

Also, by preparing for a situation using role-play, you build up experience and self-confidence with handling the situation in real life, and you can develop quick and instinctively correct reactions to situations. This means that you'll react effectively as situations evolve, rather than making mistakes or becoming overwhelmed by events.

You can also use role-play to spark brainstorming sessions, to improve communication between team members, and to see problems or situations from different perspectives.

How to Use Role Play

It is easy to set up and run a role-playing session. It will help to follow the five steps below.

Step 1: Identify the Situation

To start the process, gather people together, introduce the problem, and encourage an open discussion to uncover all of the relevant issues. This will help people to start thinking about the problem before the role-play begins.

If you're in a group and people are unfamiliar with each other, consider doing some icebreaker exercises beforehand.

Step 2: Add Details

Next, set up a scenario in enough detail for it to feel "real." Make sure that everyone is clear about the problem that you're trying to work through, and that they know what you want to achieve by the end of the session.

Step 3: Assign Roles

Once you've set the scene, identify the various fictional characters involved in the scenario. Some of these may be people who have to deal with the situation when it actually happens (for example, salespeople). Others will represent people who are supportive or hostile, depending on the scenario (for example, an angry client).

Once you've identified these roles, allocate them to the people involved in your exercise; they should use their imagination to put themselves inside the minds of the people that they're representing. This involves trying to understand their perspectives, goals, motivations, and feelings when they enter the situation. (You may find the Perceptual Positions technique useful here.)

Step 4: Act Out the Scenario

Each person can then assume their role, and act out the situation, trying different approaches where necessary.

It can be useful if the scenarios build up in intensity. For instance, if the aim of your role-play is to practice a sales meeting, the person playing the role of the potential client could start as an ideal client, and, through a series of scenarios, could become increasingly hostile and difficult. You could then test and practice different approaches for handling situations, so that you can give participants experience in handling them.

Step 5: Discuss What You Have Learned

When you finish the role-play, discuss what you've learned, so that you or the people involved can learn from the experience.

For example, if you're using it as part of a training exercise, you could lead a discussion on the scenarios you have explored, and ask for written summaries of observations and conclusions from everyone who was involved.

Further Tips

Some people feel threatened or nervous when asked to role-play, because it involves acting. This can make them feel silly, or that they've been put on the spot.

To make role-playing less threatening, start with a demonstration. Hand two "actors" a prepared script, give them a few minutes to prepare, and have them act out the role-play in front of the rest of the group. This approach is more likely to succeed if you choose two outgoing people, or if you're one of the actors in the demonstration.

Another technique for helping people feel more comfortable is to allow them to coach you during the demonstration. For instance, if you're playing the role of a customer service representative who's dealing with an angry customer, people could suggest what you should do to make things right.

Role-Play Example

In an effort to improve customer support, John, Customer Service Manager for Mythco Technologies, sets up a team role-playing session. Acting as the leader/trainer, John brings together a group of software developers and customer support representatives.

He divides the 12 people into two groups: Group A represents the customer support representatives; Group B represents the customer.

John tells Group A that the customer in this situation is one of Mythco's longest-standing customers. This customer accounts for nearly 15 percent of the company's overall annual revenue. In short, the company cannot afford to lose her business!

John tells Group B that the customer has recently received a software product that did not live up to expectations. While the customer has a long-standing relationship with Mythco, this time she's growing weary because Mythco has previously sold her faulty software on two separate occasions. Clearly, her relationship with Mythco is in jeopardy.

John now allows the groups to brainstorm for a few minutes.

Next – with this particular approach to role-play – each group sends forth an "actor" to take part in the role-play. The actor receives support and coaching from members of the team throughout the role-playing process. Each team is able to take time-outs and regroup quickly as needed.

John runs through the scenario several times, starting with the "customer" behaving gently and ending with the customer behaving aggressively. Each time, a best solution is found. Of course, John can always ask for additional role-playing and suggestions if he feels that the process needs to continue, or that the team has yet to uncover the very best solutions.

Once it's clear that they cannot identify any more solutions, John brings the two groups together and discusses the session. During this, they discuss the strategies and the solutions that the actors implemented, and how they could apply them to a real-life situation.

John also asks each team to write a short summary of what they learned from the exercise. He then combines the summaries and provides a copy of everything learned to all participants.

Role-playing happens when two or more people act out roles in a particular scenario. It's most useful for helping you prepare for unfamiliar or difficult situations.

You can also use it to spark brainstorming sessions, improve communication between team members, and see problems or situations from different perspectives.

To role-play:

  • Identify the situation.
  • Add details.
  • Assign roles.
  • Act out the scenario.
  • Discuss what you have learned.

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ESL Conversation Topics

  • Intermediate

Unusual Conversation Questions

unusual green and red city bicycle

  • 1.0 Overview
  • 2.0 Vocabulary
  • 3.0 Conversation Questions

Unusual conversation questions can be a powerful and fun tool for English learners looking to improve their vocabulary and overall language proficiency.

Engaging with thought-provoking topics pushes students to think creatively, encouraging them to explore new words and expressions outside their comfort zone. These questions inspire richer, more dynamic discussions, helping students enhance their speaking, listening, and comprehension skills.

What You Can Expect

You can expect to find a diverse array of thought-provoking and unconventional questions designed to challenge your language skills and spark engaging conversations. These questions cover a wide range of topics, from hypothetical scenarios and futuristic concepts to cultural fusion and creative problem-solving. You’ll encounter questions that prompt you to imagine new worlds, invent innovative solutions and ponder the impact of various phenomena on our society.

Useful Vocabulary

Try and use the following vocabulary when answering the question. Click to look up the definition in the dictionary

  • hypothetically  (adverb)
  • innovative (adjective)
  • ponder (verb)
  • intriguing (adjective)
  • implication (noun)
  • imagine (verb)
  • believable (adjective)

Conversation Questions

My Image

  • If you could have a superpower based on an animal's ability, which animal would you choose and why?
  • What would your dream house look like if it could be built on another planet?
  • If you could travel back in time to witness one historical event, which event would you choose and why?
  • If you could invent a new sport that combined elements from two existing sports, what would it be called and what would the rules be?
  • What type of museum would you create if you had an unlimited budget and resources?
  • If you could spend a day in the life of any fictional character, who would it be and what would you do?
  • Imagine a world without colour. How do you think people would express themselves or communicate emotions differently?
  • If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, but it had to be a combination of two different cuisines, what would your chosen meal be?
  • What kind of device or technology would you invent to solve a common everyday problem?
  • If a new island was discovered and you were given the opportunity to name it and create its culture, what would you call it and what would its traditions be?
  • Would you rather have the ability to speak every language fluently or be able to communicate with animals? Why?
  • If you could choose any animal to be the new official mascot for your country, which animal would you choose and why?
  • Which extinct animal would you bring back to life, and how do you think its presence would impact the modern world?
  • If you could add a new holiday to the calendar, what would it celebrate?
  • What kind of monument or statue would you create to represent a positive quality or achievement of humanity?
  • If you were asked to design a new mode of transportation, what would it look like and how would it function?
  • Which two famous people, from different time periods, would you invite to a dinner party and why?
  • What do you think life would be like if humans were nocturnal creatures?
  • How would society change if humans could live for 300 years?
  • If you had the power to change one aspect of human nature, what would it be and why?
  • Imagine a world where people could only communicate through music. How do you think this would change our society?
  • If you could create a new, unique type of weather, what would it be like and how would it affect the world?
  • What do you think would happen if all humans suddenly lost the ability to lie?
  • If you were given the opportunity to create a new holiday tradition, what would it be and how would it bring people together?
  • What new flavour of ice cream would you invent, and what would you name it?
  • Would you rather explore the depths of the ocean or travel to the farthest reaches of outer space?
  • What role would you play in a society where jobs no longer existed and people pursued their passions?
  • What new form of entertainment would you create to captivate audiences in a technologically advanced world?
  • How would you create a utopian society that balanced the needs of all its members?
  • How do you think education would be different in a world where people could instantly access any information?

Keep The Conversation Going!

Gregory

Gregory is a qualified TEFL teacher who has been teaching English as a Foreign Language (ESL) for over a decade. He has taught in-person classes in Spain and to English learners around the world online.

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Speaking skills: Speaking matters

  • 1 Speaking skills: Speaking matters
  • 2 Speaking matters: Developing fluency
  • 3 Speaking matters: Developing and dealing with accuracy
  • 4 Speaking matters: Assessing speaking
  • 5 Speaking matters: Personalization
  • 6 Speaking matters: Problem-solving
  • 7 Speaking matters: Role-play
  • 8 Speaking matters: Pairwork

Speaking matters: Problem-solving

By Adrian Tennant

  • No comments

This article looks at problem-solving activities and what they are like. It covers how to set them up, why it's good to use them, the disadvantages and what you should do after the activity.

Introduction

Students need a reason to speak in the classroom. Many speaking activities seem to have no aim other than to get students to talk to each other, but for what reason? By doing the activity what will they achieve? Some activities, like pairwork activities, try to create a purpose by creating an information gap - i.e. where one student has some of the information and another student the rest and, only by speaking to each other can they complete the task. However, this simple transference of information only replicates a small part of what speaking in real life is used for.

Role-plays are another favourite classroom activity designed to get students speaking, but these often focus on creating scenarios or situations where students practise functional language such as giving directions, asking for information, etc. Although this is realistic, it is still often on a level of one student having information that another student doesn't. In real life, we often speak about something when we both, or all, share a lot of the same information. This can take the form of a discussion or a debate where we have opinions, but it can also take the shape of a discussion based on having to solve a problem. In this article, we'll take a closer look at problem-solving speaking activities.

What are problem-solving activities like?

There are a number of types of problem solving activities. For the sake of simplicity I'll split them into three types:

1. The opinion problem-solving activity.

In this type of activity students are given information to discuss where there is not necessarily one right or wrong answer. This type of activity differs from a normal discussion in that there is a built-in problem within the information.

You and three friends rowed out to a small island in the middle of a lake. When you landed you forgot to tie the boat up properly and it has drifted away. Night is now approaching. It is 3km back to the shore, but one of your friends can't swim. You do not have any food with you and you don't know if anyone knows where you are. What do you do?

Students are then expected to discuss the problem and come up with a solution. To help students you can provide a set of ideas/options for them to choose from. You can also make the activity more complicated by giving each student a 'role card' with an extra piece of information on it (that might be a problem) i.e.

There is no wood on the island so you can't build a fire. At night the temperature drops to freezing .

2. The logical thinking problem-solving activity.

In this type of problem-solving activity there is usually one correct solution. To arrive at the solution the students need to discuss information they are given and logically work out what the solution is. There are two ways in which the information can be given, either split between a number of students so that they don't have the same information and they must share it, or where they all have the same information and simply have to discuss things together. In the later version a set of questions can often help students work out the answer. (See activity 2 in the 'Practical ideas' section below for a logical thinking activity).

3.The information gap problem-solving activity.

How does this differ from a normal information gap (i.e. a pairwork information gap where one student has information that the other student doesn't)? Well, the main difference is that in a normal information gap activity it is simply a matter of transferring the information, i.e. two students have a profile of a person. Student A knows the person's age and nationality, etc. Student B then asks 'How old is he?' and fills in the missing information they obtain in the correct space, etc. In a problem-solving information gap, getting the missing information is not the ultimate aim, but merely a stepping stone on the way to solving a problem.

Why use problem-solving activities?

Apart from the fact that these kinds of activities can be a lot of fun they are also very stimulating. They usually require students to communicate information to each other where the focus is on expressing ideas and opinions and not simply repeating phrases. In many ways, problem-solving activities replicate 'real' speaking in that people have a need to speak. Problem-solving activities can also be an effective way of practising language items that have been taught, i.e. both grammar and vocabulary. They are also a great way of developing students' cognitive abilities helping them to process language in a meaningful way.

Are there any disadvantages to problem-solving activities?

Yes, there are. One of the major problems is that stronger students often dominate the discussions, taking over and giving the less able students little opportunity to contribute. Often, this is due to the need for one person to organize and collate information and ideas. One way around this is to give certain students specific tasks, i.e. someone to 'chair' the discussion, someone to make sure everyone has a turn, etc.

Another disadvantage of this type of activity is that students may become frustrated when trying to solve the problem and, especially if they don't have the language skills in English, will switch to their L1. To avoid this it is important that you, the teacher, consider what language they are likely to need in order to complete the task and to pre-teach any necessary phrases, expressions or vocabulary you think they do not possess. Remember, using a problem-solving activity is not the main focus of your lesson/teaching but simply a way in providing students with a forum for using the language they have learnt.

How do you set up a problem-solving activity?

As with other speaking activities, how you set up the activity will often be the difference between a successful activity and one that doesn't work. The first thing to consider is whether the activity uses the language you want the students to practise. If not, then ask yourself why exactly you are using it. Then, it is important to look at the language that is needed and make sure that you pre-teach any new language before they start the activity. This will help the activity run smoothly with the focus being on solving the problem rather than working out the meaning of any new language. Finally, think about whether you want students to work alone to begin with and then discuss the problem with other students or whether you will start with pair or groupwork. Whenever you decide to use pair or groupwork think about who you get to work together so that there is a balance in each group.

What should I do after the activity?

Just as with roleplays, don't just move onto a different activity. If you move on immediately after the activity and don't at least discuss what happened, then students will often lose interest in problem-solving activities, or at least won't benefit to the full. There needs to be an obvious outcome and a rounding-up of the activity. Opening up the activity to a class discussion where you compare solutions is an obvious follow-up. It is also important that during the activity you note down any mistakes students made with the language and think about how you will tackle these either after the activity or in a subsequent lesson.

Some practical ideas

An opinion problem-solving activity

Here I am going to use the idea I mentioned earlier but give a few variations to show how it can be run in a number of different ways.

Variation 1

Put students in groups of 3-5 and give each group a copy (or copies) of the following handout:

Ask students to talk to each other and make a list of possible solutions. Ask them to also think about what problems they might face/encounter with each solution. i.e. If they stay on the island, where will they sleep and what will they eat? What if there is no food on the island? etc.

Variation 2

Give the students the same handout, but also give them the following options (either as part of the handout or written on the board).

  • One of you swims to the shore to get help.
  • Try and make a fire on the island to attract attention.
  • Find somewhere to sleep for the night and then try and get off in the morning.
  • Look for the boat and get one person to try and swim to it and bring it back.
  • All swim back to the shore taking it in turns to help the person who can't swim.

Variation 3

Give the students the same handout, but also give each one a role card with extra information. i.e.

  A logical thinking problem-solving activity

A new teacher starts working at school. In her class there are a set of triplets, Ana, Bryan and Carl. Unfortunately, the teacher can't remember which one is which, but she has some notes about the three kids.

She knows that two of the triplets are boys and one is a girl.

Carl, one of the boys, is always calm and patient.

  • One of the triplets likes playing football and he has a tattoo on his arm.

One of the triplets has red hair, one brown and one blonde.

  • The triplet who doesn't get angry easily has short blonde hair.

The triplet with red hair has an earring and she likes to sing.

The triplet who has a tattoo gets angry easily.

Can she work out who is who?

Students should be able to work out the answer simply with the information provided, but, if you want to help them you could also give them a set of questions to answer. e.g.

  • Should the teacher have known which triplet was Ana? Why?
  • Which triplet likes to sing? How do you know?
  • What colour is Ana's hair?
  • What else do you know about Ana?
  • What kind of person is Carl?
  • Does he have a tattoo?
  • How do you know?
  • What colour is Carl's hair?
  • Does Carl like football?
  • Which triplet likes football?

These questions guide students through step-by-step, enabling them to work out the answer.

An information gap problem-solving activity

A simple example of this would be to use the same worksheet as above but cut the information about the triplets into strips, put students in small groups and give each student one or two strips. Tell students they have the information between them but that they must not show their information to the other students in their group.

A new teacher starts working at school. In her class there are a set of triplets, Ana, Bryan and Carl. Unfortunately, the teacher can’t remember which one is which, but she has some notes about the three kids. Can she work out who is who?

One of the triplets likes playing football and he has a tattoo on his arm

The triplet who doesn’t get angry easily has short blonde hair.

  • British English

Speaking matters: Developing fluency

Speaking matters: developing and dealing with accuracy, speaking matters: assessing speaking, speaking matters: personalization, speaking matters: role-play.

Photo of students working specifically in pairs in a classroom.

Speaking matters: Pairwork

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Professional Communication Skills: Timing Yourself During Presentations

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Use these materials to deliver an online or face-to-face lesson on timing oneself during a presentation.

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Pronunciation skills with Adrian Underhill: Overcoming common pronunciation challenges

By Adrian Underhill

In the last article in this series, ELT pronunciation expert Adrian Underhill looks at how to overcome common pronunciation problems.

Phonemic-chart_crop

Pronunciation skills: Consonants – consciously rediscovering the ON and OFF voice buttons

In his latest article, ELT pronunciation expert Adrian Underhill looks at consonants and how consciously rediscoving the ON and OFF voice buttons can benefit both your teaching and your students’ learning.

Pronunciation skills: Minimal pairs /θ/ and /ð/

In this video, Adrian looks at the minimal pairand and /θ/ and /ð/ and shows us how to make each sound in a simple and effective way while giving advice on how to gain control of the physicality needed to produce each sound.

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99 Mindful Conversation Topics For Deeper Connections

Kayti-Christian

Mindful conversation topics are perfect for deepening relationships and fostering meaningful discussions—whether with strangers, family members, romantic partners, or friends old and new. Whether you use a conversation deck , pull from the questions below, or create your own list, here’s to never wondering what to talk about again!

Have you had a good conversation lately? Jump to the comments below and share your favorite topics!

And for more everyday inspiration, subscribe to The Daily Good —a 30-second newsletter delivered to your inbox each morning with tips for self-care and sustainable living. 🌿

Conversation Topics For Anyone

1. Which scent do you find the most soothing?

2. What is a language you love to listen to even if you don’t speak or understand it?

3. Oceans or mountains? Why?

4. Describe the most captivating painting or artwork you’ve ever seen.

5. Do you remember the first novel you ever read? If so, what was it?

6. What is your favorite thing about your personality?

“What is your favorite thing about your personality?”

7. If you could have a fictional superhero for a best friend, who would it be?

8. What color would you choose to describe yourself?

9. What is something you have accomplished as an adult that your younger self would be proud of?

10. Is there a place in the world that you feel most represents who you are?

11. Where is one place you’d love to travel to again?

12. If your pet could talk, what would their voice sound like? What would they say about you?

13. What does your name mean?

14. What tasks make you feel like your best self?

15. What’s your Enneagram number and how does it influence your self-care practices?

16. Where do you feel most centered and happy?

17. What’s your favorite comfort food?

18. What do you wear when you’re feeling your very best, and why?

19. What is the best meal you’ve ever had, and what’s the best meal you’ve ever cooked for yourself?

20. What do you love most about your home ?

“What do you love most about your home?”

21. What’s a yearbook-style superlative you’d give to your high school self? What’s one for your current self?

22. What gives you goosebumps?

23. Do you know your astrology sign ? How about your birth chart?

24. How are you consciously practicing sustainability ?

25. Do you have any tattoos ?

26. Scuba diving or skydiving?

27. What are you most grateful for in this season of life?

28. Do you give back or volunteer with any organizations?

29. What’s your love language ?

Conversation Topics For Friends

30. What do you look for and need in your friendships ?

31. How do you feel that you best offer love and support to your friends?

32. Tell me about your childhood best friend.

33. When do you feel most authentically yourself?

34. What’s one form of self-expression you’ve been too hesitant to explore?

“What’s one habit you want to get rid of and one habit you want to keep?”

35. What’s one habit you want to get rid of and one habit you want to keep?

36. What was your first experience with sex like?

37. If you were to perform a duet with a famous musician, who would it be and why?

38. Do you have any recurring dreams ? If so, what do you think they are trying to tell you?

39. Who do you most admire, and how has that impacted the way you live your life?

Mindful Conversation Topics for Your Parents

40. What’s one thing you’d tell yourself at my age? What’s one thing your younger self would tell you?

41. What do you wish you’d known before having kids?

42. What was the first big purchase you made as an adult?

43. How did you know when you fell in love?

“What was the first big purchase you made as an adult?”

44. Have you kept any memorabilia from your childhood?

45. What do you miss most about being a child? A teenager? My age?

46. What about the current world would be most surprising to your younger self?

47. If you could travel back in time, which part of your life would you go back to?

48. Who did you vote for in past elections ? Why?

49. What are some of your favorite memories about your parents?

Conversation Topics For Kids

50. If you could have one cartoon character be your real-life best friend, who would you choose and why?

51. What’s your earliest memory?

52. What do you love most about school?

53. Who are your best friends?

“What does a perfect day with the family look like?”

54. What is your favorite season?

55. What superpower do you wish you had?

56. What do you want to be when you grow up?

57. If you could have any animal as a pet, which would you choose and why?

58. What does a perfect day with the family look like?

59. What do you love most about our house?

Conversation Topics For Date Night

60. How do you feel best supported in hard times?

61. What does “alone time” look like for you?

62. Dogs or cats (or rabbits)?

63. What do you wish people better understood about you?

“What does ‘alone time’ look like for you?”

64. What lessons from your childhood have most impacted your worldview?

65. If we could live in another country for a year (no strings attached), where would we go?

66. What do you love most about our relationship? What do you wish to work on ?

67. What small joys bring light to your day?

68. How can we better practice sustainability as a couple?

69. What’s a favorite memory you have of us together?

Conversation Topics For Siblings

70. What’s one of your favorite memories from our childhood?

71. What do you think everyone in the family will be doing 10 years from now?

“Which characteristics do you think you inherited from our parents?”

72. Do you have a morning routine ?

73. What was your favorite subject in school? Favorite teacher?

74. Which characteristics do you think you inherited from our parents?

75. If you could return to school, what would you study?

76. What Netflix show or movie are you watching?

77. What are you currently reading ?

78. What food reminds you most of home?

79. What do you love most about yourself?

Conversation Topics For Work

80. What accomplishments are you most proud of?

81. What projects are you working on right now that bring you joy?

82. How do you unwind after work?

83. Do you listen to any podcasts during your commute? If so, which ones?

“How do you track your work goals and accomplishments?”

84. What do you enjoy most about our company?

85. Where do you need support that you’re not getting it?

86. How do you track your work goals and accomplishments ?

87. Do you enjoy networking ? Why or why not?

88. What was your very first job?

89. What skills are you focused on cultivating right now?

Conversation Topics For Strangers

90. How are you truly doing ?

91. What’s one act of kindness you experienced today?

92. What do you do for enjoyment?

93. Do you recharge by being around other people or by spending time alone?

“What is the compliment you receive most often?”

94. If you had a day to yourself, what would it look like, where would you go, and what would you do?

95. What is the compliment you receive most often?

96. Do you collect anything?

97. What was the last movie you watched?

98. What’s one thing your loved ones would be surprised to learn about you?

99. If you woke up one morning and all your problems were solved, how would go about your day?

Kayti Christian (she/her) is a Senior Editor at The Good Trade. She has a Master’s in Nonfiction Writing from the University of London and is the creator of Feelings Not Aside , a newsletter for sensitive people.

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Articles on Problem solving

Displaying 1 - 20 of 26 articles.

problem solving conversation topics

‘Smart drugs’ make you worse at solving complex problems, new study finds

Elizabeth Bowman , The University of Melbourne

problem solving conversation topics

Lockdown schooling: research from around the world shows reasons to be hopeful

Nina Bergdahl , Stockholm University and Melissa Bond , University of South Australia

problem solving conversation topics

Future engineers need to understand their work’s human impact – here’s how my classes prepare students to tackle problems like climate change

Gordon D. Hoople , University of San Diego

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Being good at maths might help you become great at sports – Emma Raducanu showed us why

Laurence Shaw , Nottingham Trent University

problem solving conversation topics

Why students learn better when they move their bodies – instead of sitting still at their desks

Katie Headrick Taylor , University of Washington

problem solving conversation topics

5 digital games that teach civics through play

Karen "Kat" Schrier , Marist College

problem solving conversation topics

Is gaming good for kids?

John Velez , Indiana University

problem solving conversation topics

Your coping and resilience strategies might need to shift as the COVID-19 crisis continues

Craig Polizzi , Binghamton University, State University of New York and Steven Jay Lynn , Binghamton University, State University of New York

problem solving conversation topics

Feeling overwhelmed? Approach coronavirus as a challenge to be met, not a threat to be feared

Bethany Teachman , University of Virginia

problem solving conversation topics

Collaborative problem solvers are made not born – here’s what you need to know

Stephen M. Fiore , University of Central Florida

problem solving conversation topics

Customer service staff need to be problem solving not apologising

Jagdip Singh , Case Western Reserve University

problem solving conversation topics

Stuck in the past: the UK needs to produce creative thinkers not exam-passing machines

Thusha Rajendran , Heriot-Watt University

problem solving conversation topics

Distance learning: the five qualities student teachers need to succeed

Nhlanhla Mpofu , Sol Plaatje University

problem solving conversation topics

Otter Tupperware party we threw reveals how animals copy each other to learn

Neeltje Boogert , University of Exeter

problem solving conversation topics

Apps to keep kids thinking and learning even during school holidays

Craig Blewett , University of KwaZulu-Natal

problem solving conversation topics

Schools will teach ‘soft skills’ from 2017, but assessing them presents a challenge

Bill Lucas , Victoria University

problem solving conversation topics

Engineers don’t just build things, they can help save the world

Petr Matous , University of Sydney and Abbas El-Zein , University of Sydney

problem solving conversation topics

Outdated exams are holding children back – not computers in the classroom

James Stanfield , Newcastle University and Angelika Strohmayer , Newcastle University

problem solving conversation topics

Why students make silly mistakes in class (and what can be done)

Greg Ashman , UNSW Sydney

problem solving conversation topics

How we showed ‘sleeping on it’ really is the best way to solve a problem

Padraic Monaghan , Lancaster University

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Difficult talks spike anxiety. Learning conversations can help.

Two-way discussions and a strategy used by mediators can lead to better outcomes.

Many of us have had difficult conversations that provoke anxiety, and we may dread the ones we need to have — with a family member about political issues when we disagree; with a supervisor about having too many projects on our plate; or with a preteen about their excessive screen time.

Any conversation in which we feel vulnerable or confused, care deeply about the issues at stake, or worry that the relationship will be hurt has the potential to be difficult. Anything that feels tough to you — no matter how big or small — qualifies. If it keeps you up at night, it’s difficult.

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first: Difficult conversations aren’t going away. You don’t outgrow them or get promoted past them. As long as we interact with other humans, the differences, disagreements, hopes and fears that give rise to such conversations will always be with us.

Now for some good news: Nothing turns hard conversations into easy ones, but there are tools and mind-sets that can reduce anxiety and increase the chances the conversation will be productive. Here are two strategies you can begin to use right away.

Have a two-way ‘learning conversation’

Think of a difficult conversation that might be on your to-do list.

The first thing you may think of is the person with whom you have a problem or concern, and just thinking of this person in this context may cause you anxiety. As you imagine the dialogue, you may focus on what you need to tell the other person: “You hurt me” or “This wasn’t fair” or “You’re wrong.”

These thoughts are normal, and we all have them. The problem arises when we start thinking of the conversation in terms of delivering a message, as if it were a package. We think: “I need to deliver my message — that what they did was unfair — and my job will be done.”

When you are arguing with a family member over politics, for instance, you may feel the need to share facts to convince them that they are wrong. With a supervisor, you may be tempted to declare that you are going to turn down new projects. And you may want to tell your preteen that excessive screen time is negatively affecting their schoolwork and health, which is not acceptable.

This message delivery model, however, is flawed. When we are in message delivery mode, we are stating the problem and implied solution, often before we fully understand how the other person sees things or why they are behaving as they are. Meaningful problem-solving is limited or missing entirely, and as with many conversations, we have two talkers and no listeners.

Try having a two-way learning conversation instead. Ask questions to understand the other person’s views and actively listen to their answers. When you listen to their thoughts and feelings, they will be more likely to listen to yours — not because it might seem like the fair thing to do, but because we all become better at taking in information when we aren’t sitting on our own strong unexpressed thoughts and feelings.

Productive conversations are those in which people feel heard, understood and, ideally, respected.

Use a mediation strategy

We all know the saying that there are two sides to every story, but in our disputes and arguments, we tend to see the two sides as a right side and a wrong side. We begin a difficult conversation by describing why our side is right. This, though, makes the other side wrong, and they often respond by defending themselves. Ten seconds into the conversation, we’re already talking past each other.

A second option seems even worse: starting with their version of things, in which we’re the ones who are in the wrong.

There is, however, a way to start a conversation so that it has the greatest chance of being productive. Every dispute or disagreement has a hidden third story, one told by a mediator or a neutral friend or colleague. Their role is to be fair and helpful to both sides, and that’s tricky. If each party thinks they are right, how can a mediator describe the problem in a way approved of by both parties?

Mediators have a strategy: They take the value judgment out of their description but leave the gap between the two views. Instead of using words such as right and wrong or better and worse, they observe that each person sees things differently and outline those differences.

You can start your own difficult conversation from the third story. For example, when talking with a relative about politics, instead of starting with “Your view on taxation is greedy and simplistic,” you could begin from the third story: “We see this question of taxation differently. Let’s explore where we see it differently and why.” You can then discuss whether your differences relate to different facts, values, life experiences or fears. Your goal isn’t to persuade the other person to change their views (which they won’t do based on a brief conversation anyway) but rather to sketch out the contours of the disagreement.

Instead of saying to your boss, “I have too many projects, so give the next one to someone else,” you could say: “I’m working on four projects simultaneously and staying until 10 every night. I want to discuss how projects get assigned and what makes sense for me given my current workload.” This will help you get to the root of the problem, and it allows room for creative problem-solving. It could be, for example, that rather than cutting back on your projects, you get a new team member or are given better equipment.

With your child, instead of reiterating a rule — “no screen time after 6 p.m. on school days” — you might start with: “We have a lot of conflict and disagreement around screen time. We’ve set up rules, and you are upset with them. Let’s talk about the purpose of the rules and your experience with trying to follow them.”

The goal of each of these conversations is for each person to better understand the other. Then deeper problem-solving can follow. Having a conversation where you really listen to the other person doesn’t mean giving up any of your power. You can state your expectations and clarify rules, but because you’ve taken the other person’s experience into account, it’s more likely that you will find a mutually satisfactory solution, with less anxiety and dread.

Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone are graduates of Harvard Law School and have been teaching negotiation there for almost 30 years. They are co-authors (along with Bruce Patton) of “ Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most ” (Penguin). An updated and revised third edition of the book was published Aug. 22.

We welcome your comments on this column at [email protected] .

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A new way to let AI chatbots converse all day without crashing

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Cartoon with several online chat windows saying “Oops something went wrong,” and one in the center with text bubbles showing it is continuing to perform.

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Cartoon with several online chat windows saying “Oops something went wrong,” and one in the center with text bubbles showing it is continuing to perform.

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When a human-AI conversation involves many rounds of continuous dialogue, the powerful large language machine-learning models that drive chatbots like ChatGPT sometimes start to collapse, causing the bots’ performance to rapidly deteriorate.

A team of researchers from MIT and elsewhere has pinpointed a surprising cause of this problem and developed a simple solution that enables a chatbot to maintain a nonstop conversation without crashing or slowing down.

Their method involves a tweak to the key-value cache (which is like a conversation memory) at the core of many large language models. In some methods, when this cache needs to hold more information than it has capacity for, the first pieces of data are bumped out. This can cause the model to fail.

By ensuring that these first few data points remain in memory, the researchers’ method allows a chatbot to keep chatting no matter how long the conversation goes.

The method, called StreamingLLM, enables a model to remain efficient even when a conversation stretches on for more than 4 million words. When compared to another method that avoids crashing by constantly recomputing part of the past conversations, StreamingLLM performed more than 22 times faster.

This could allow a chatbot to conduct long conversations throughout the workday without needing to be continually rebooted, enabling efficient AI assistants for tasks like copywriting, editing, or generating code.

“Now, with this method, we can persistently deploy these large language models. By making a chatbot that we can always chat with, and that can always respond to us based on our recent conversations, we could use these chatbots in some new applications,” says Guangxuan Xiao, an electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) graduate student and lead author of a paper on StreamingLLM.

Xiao’s co-authors include his advisor, Song Han, an associate professor in EECS, a member of the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, and a distinguished scientist of NVIDIA; as well as Yuandong Tian, a research scientist at Meta AI; Beidi Chen, an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University; and senior author Mike Lewis, a research scientist at Meta AI. The work will be presented at the International Conference on Learning Representations.

A puzzling phenomenon

Large language models encode data, like words in a user query, into representations called tokens. Many models employ what is known as an attention mechanism that uses these tokens to generate new text.

Typically, an AI chatbot writes new text based on text it has just seen, so it stores recent tokens in memory, called a KV Cache, to use later. The attention mechanism builds a grid that includes all tokens in the cache, an “attention map” that maps out how strongly each token, or word, relates to each other token.

Understanding these relationships is one feature that enables large language models to generate human-like text.

But when the cache gets very large, the attention map can become even more massive, which slows down computation.

Also, if encoding content requires more tokens than the cache can hold, the model’s performance drops. For instance, one popular model can store 4,096 tokens, yet there are about 10,000 tokens in an academic paper.

To get around these problems, researchers employ a “sliding cache” that bumps out the oldest tokens to add new tokens. However, the model’s performance often plummets as soon as that first token is evicted, rapidly reducing the quality of newly generated words.

In this new paper, researchers realized that if they keep the first token in the sliding cache, the model will maintain its performance even when the cache size is exceeded.

But this didn’t make any sense. The first word in a novel likely has nothing to do with the last word, so why would the first word be so important for the model to generate the newest word?

In their new paper, the researchers also uncovered the cause of this phenomenon.

Attention sinks

Some models use a Softmax operation in their attention mechanism, which assigns a score to each token that represents how much it relates to each other token. The Softmax operation requires all attention scores to sum up to 1. Since most tokens aren’t strongly related, their attention scores are very low. The model dumps any remaining attention score in the first token.

The researchers call this first token an “attention sink.”

“We need an attention sink, and the model decides to use the first token as the attention sink because it is globally visible — every other token can see it. We found that we must always keep the attention sink in the cache to maintain the model dynamics,” Han says. 

In building StreamingLLM, the researchers discovered that having four attention sink tokens at the beginning of the sliding cache leads to optimal performance.

They also found that the positional encoding of each token must stay the same, even as new tokens are added and others are bumped out. If token 5 is bumped out, token 6 must stay encoded as 6, even though it is now the fifth token in the cache.

By combining these two ideas, they enabled StreamingLLM to maintain a continuous conversation while outperforming a popular method that uses recomputation.

For instance, when the cache has 256 tokens, the recomputation method takes 63 milliseconds to decode a new token, while StreamingLLM takes 31 milliseconds. However, if the cache size grows to 4,096 tokens, recomputation requires 1,411 milliseconds for a new token, while StreamingLLM needs just 65 milliseconds.

“The innovative approach of StreamingLLM, centered around the attention sink mechanism, ensures stable memory usage and performance, even when processing texts up to 4 million tokens in length,” says Yang You, a presidential young professor of computer science at the National University of Singapore, who was not involved with this work. “This capability is not just impressive; it's transformative, enabling StreamingLLM to be applied across a wide array of AI applications. The performance and versatility of StreamingLLM mark it as a highly promising technology, poised to revolutionize how we approach AI-driven generation applications.”

Tianqi Chen, an assistant professor in the machine learning and computer science departments at Carnegie Mellon University who also was not involved with this research, agreed, saying “Streaming LLM enables the smooth extension of the conversation length of large language models. We have been using it to enable the deployment of Mistral models on iPhones with great success.”

The researchers also explored the use of attention sinks during model training by prepending several placeholder tokens in all training samples.

They found that training with attention sinks allowed a model to maintain performance with only one attention sink in its cache, rather than the four that are usually required to stabilize a pretrained model’s performance. 

But while StreamingLLM enables a model to conduct a continuous conversation, the model cannot remember words that aren’t stored in the cache. In the future, the researchers plan to target this limitation by investigating methods to retrieve tokens that have been evicted or enable the model to memorize previous conversations.

StreamingLLM has been incorporated into NVIDIA's large language model optimization library, TensorRT-LLM .

This work is funded, in part, by the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, the MIT Science Hub, and the U.S. National Science Foundation.

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Press mentions, the daily beast.

MIT researchers have developed a new technique “that could allow most large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to retain memory and boost performance,” reports Tony Ho Tran for the Daily Beast . “The process is called StreamingLLM and it allows for chatbots to perform optimally even after a conversation goes on for more than 4 million words,” explains Tran.

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Find the AI Approach That Fits the Problem You’re Trying to Solve

  • George Westerman,
  • Sam Ransbotham,
  • Chiara Farronato

problem solving conversation topics

Five questions to help leaders discover the right analytics tool for the job.

AI moves quickly, but organizations change much more slowly. What works in a lab may be wrong for your company right now. If you know the right questions to ask, you can make better decisions, regardless of how fast technology changes. You can work with your technical experts to use the right tool for the right job. Then each solution today becomes a foundation to build further innovations tomorrow. But without the right questions, you’ll be starting your journey in the wrong place.

Leaders everywhere are rightly asking about how Generative AI can benefit their businesses. However, as impressive as generative AI is, it’s only one of many advanced data science and analytics techniques. While the world is focusing on generative AI, a better approach is to understand how to use the range of available analytics tools to address your company’s needs. Which analytics tool fits the problem you’re trying to solve? And how do you avoid choosing the wrong one? You don’t need to know deep details about each analytics tool at your disposal, but you do need to know enough to envision what’s possible and to ask technical experts the right questions.

  • George Westerman is a Senior Lecturer in MIT Sloan School of Management and founder of the Global Opportunity Forum  in MIT’s Office of Open Learning.
  • SR Sam Ransbotham is a Professor of Business Analytics at the Boston College Carroll School of Management. He co-hosts the “Me, Myself, and AI” podcast.
  • Chiara Farronato is the Glenn and Mary Jane Creamer Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and co-principal investigator at the Platform Lab at Harvard’s Digital Design Institute (D^3). She is also a fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).

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