Make Conversations Flow Smoother
Use a four-layer backup plan
Today’s blog post is also a podcast. Listen to it here.
I once learned that the US military uses something called a PACE plan.
Perhaps other armies use this concept as well. I wouldn’t be surprised. It stands for:
P - Primary (primary plan)
A - Alternate (backup in case the primary plan fails)
C - Contingency (another backup plan)
E - Emergency (a final backup plan)
That is my understanding of it. If you’re in the military and I’ve actually got it wrong let me know.
This concept applies to conversations in another language.
For example, I am preparing for an immersive class that I’ll be teaching. It is a 20-hour course spread out over 2 days. I’ll been teaching more immersive classes like this throughout the spring and summer, ranging from 4-10 hours a day for at least 1 day. It’s an effective way for you to condense weeks, or even months, of learning into a single day. Let me know if you’d like to discuss such a class for yourself - I have about 3 more spaces open for this spring.
In one of my intensive classes, I’ll be helping students to always have something to say (i.e., never draw a blank.)
The simplest way to do this is to have a 4-layer backup plan for what to do when you draw a blank. It might look something like this:
Layer 1: I paraphrase what the other speaker asked me. This buys me time to think
Example: “I want to make sure I understood your question - did you ask me what I think about _____ movie?”
Layer 2: If I still don’t know what to say, I’ll say, “hmm, good question. Let me think about that.”
Layer 3: If I still don’t know what to say, I’ll say, “I’m actually not sure. I’ve never thought about that before. What did you think about ________movie?”
Layer 4: If I’m asked a question that can’t be simply reflected back to the asker (why do you have a Lego collection, for example), I’ll say, “I’m sorry, I’m still learning French and I sometimes don’t know what to say. My apologies!”
Here’s another example of how you can use a 4-layer backup plan.
Let’s say you want to have a 4-layer backup plan for what to do when you don’t understand a native speaker. It might look like this:
Layer 1: I’ll say, “can you repeat that? I didn’t catch what you said.”
Layer 2: If I still don’t understand, I’ll say, “shoot, I’m still learning French and you spoke a little bit too fast for me. Could you say that once more please?”
Layer 3: If I still don’t understand, I’ll say “I want to make sure I understood - are you asking me________?”
Layer 4: If I still don’t understand, I’ll say “can you type that question into my translator please?”
Try using the concept of the 4-layer backup plan.
In my experience, it boosts fluency and makes all sorts of social situations flow much smoother.