Body Language
You're telling someone about how to do a Pokemon battle. Their eye brows start to scrunch and their eyes squint. Should you check in with them?
YES! They are probably feeling confused.
You're telling someone about how to do a Pokemon battle. They say "got it." Do we need to continue explaining?
No they understand how to play.
You are explaining the best way to beat a level of your video game. Your friend says, "Can we start playing now?" Do you need to continue to explain how to be the level?
No. We can infer that they don't really care about beating the level, they just want to play.
You are telling someone about how to do a math problem. Their eyes suddenly open widely and they have a smile on their face. What can we infer and how can we check in with them?
They probably figured out how to do the math problem. We probably do not need to continue explaining the problem to them. We could ask, "Do you get it? Do you still need help?"
You are telling someone about how to do a math problem. They say "This is making me feel better" in a sarcastic way. What can we infer? How should we check in?
We can infer that they are still confused with how to do the math problem. We can ask them if what you are saying is making sense to them.
We are talking to our cousin about our trip to France. They say, "I love France! Did you go to the Eiffel Tower?" What can we infer and how can we check in with our cousin?
We can infer that they want to keep talking about this topic with us! We can ask them a question about when they were in France to keep the conversation going.
You are explaining the best way to beat a level of your video game. You friend starts shaking his head side to side. What can we infer and how can we check in with them?
We can infer that our friend has a different idea about how to beat the level. We can ask them what they are thinking.
We are talking to our cousin about our trip to France. Our cousin says, "Oh Uncle Bob is here, I've got to talk to him." How can we check in with our cousin at this point in the conversation? What can we infer?
We can infer that they may want to stop talking to us and talk to their uncle. We can let them know that they can go talk to him, and we can tell them about our trip later.
We are talking to our friend about what we ate for dinner last night. The friend says, "Sorry, but can I tell you a crazy story about my dog that happened last night!" What can we infer?
We can infer that our friend is done talking about food and wants to tell us about what happened to his dog. We can infer that they want to change topics.
You are telling your friend a story about your weekend. They put their hand up and pull their phone out. What can you infer and how can you check in with them?
We can infer that our friend is busy and this might not be the best time to tell them a story. We can ask them if they are busy and if we should chat later.
You are telling your friend a story about your weekend. They say, "That sounds cool. I've got so much to do right now though." What can we infer? How should we check in with them before telling more about our weekend?
We can infer that they are probably too busy to keep listening to our story and they want the conversation to end. We could ask them if they are busy and if they would prefer we tell them later.
Our friend was telling us about a kid who was bullying him. He suddenly said, "Can you stop asking me about this?" What can we infer. How can we check in with our friend?
We can infer that our friend decided that he didn't want to talk about this situation anymore. We can asks them if they would prefer to not talk about it?
You are sharing an idea that you have for a group project with your group. One of your group mates starts nodding their head up and down quickly. What can you infer and how can you check in with them?
We can infer that our group mate likes our idea. We can check in with them by asking if they like it and if they have any questions or if they have any other ideas.
You are sharing an idea that you have for a group project with your group. Both of your group mates say "sounds good." What can we infer and how can we check in with them to see if we are on the same page?
We can infer that they want to do the idea for the project. We can ask them if they definitely want to do our idea?
Your brother was watching you play video games. He said, "Why are you so good at this?" What can we infer? How can we check in with our brother?
We can infer that our friend thinks we are good at playing the game, but they might be a little jealous. We can check in by asking if they want any pointers on how to play.