Paraphrasing is repeating in your words what you interpreted someone else to be saying.
Paraphrasing is powerful means to further the understanding of the other person and yourself, and can greatly increase the impact of another’s comments. It can translate comments so that even more people can understand them. When paraphrasing:
Put the focus of the paraphrase on what the other person implied, not on what you wanted him/her to imply, e.g., don’t say, “I believe what you meant to say was …”. Instead, say “If I’m hearing you right, you conveyed that …?”
Phrase the paraphrase as a question, “So you’re saying that …?”, so that the other person has the responsibility and opportunity to refine his/her original comments in response to your question.
Put the focus of the paraphrase on the other person, e.g., if the person said, “I don’t get enough resources to do what I want,” then don’t paraphrase, “We probably all don’t get what we want, right?”
•Put the ownership of the paraphrase on yourself, e.g., “If I’m hearing you right …?”or “If I understand you correctly …?”
•Put the ownership of the other person’s words on him/her, e.g., say “If I understand you right, you’re saying that …?” or “… you believe that …?” or “… you feel that …?”
•In the paraphrase, use some of the words that the other person used. For example, if the other person said, “I think we should do more planning around here.” You might paraphrase, “If I’m hearing you right in this strategic planning workshop, you believe that more strategic planning should be done in our community?”
Don’t judge or evaluate the other person’s comments, e.g., don’t say, “I wonder if you really believe that?” or “Don’t you feel out-on-a-limb making that comment?”
You can use a paraphrase to validate your impression of the other’s comments, e.g., you could say, “So you were frustrated when …?”
The paraphrase should be shorter than the original comments made by the other person.
If the other person responds to your paraphrase that you still don’t understand him/her, then give the other person 1-2 chances to restate his position. Then you might cease the paraphrasing; otherwise, you might embarrass or provoke the other person.
Use the text book and the tips provided above to write down a paraphrasing response for two of the following scenarios:
Maria: ” I just got out of my second two hours class today, and I can’t belief how much work I have to do, just for these two classes”.
You:
Miguel: “I’m having a hard time communicating with Hassan , I have not been able to reach him since last week, I don’t know what’s going on.”
You:
Alijah: “The DOE is a mess” They want us to send our children to school when they cannot even ensure the children safety”. In fact, there has been an increase of COVID-19 cases in my children
school district.
