Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is repeating what somebody has said, using your own words.
Benefits for the Trainer
The technique forces you, as a trainer, to listen very carefully, since you know that when the participant has finished speaking, you will need to repeat what was said. In addition, you have the opportunity to find out whether you really understood what was said.
Benefits for the Speaking Participants
Paraphrasing has both a calming and clarifying effect. It reassures the speaker that his or her ideas are worth listening to. And it provides the speaker with the chance to hear that others are hearing his/her ideas. In other words, it supports people to think out loud.
Benefit for Other Listening Participants
They get a second chance to understand what the speaker tried to share.
When to Use Paraphrasing
When a participants makes very long, complicated or confusing statement, or when a participant has problems expressing his/her own thoughts clearly.
How to Paraphrase
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Paraphrasing uses the following four step model:
1. Listen carefully
2. Use your own words to say what you think the participants said, staring with for example: In other words, "Do you mean that …" or "It sounds like you are saying is …"
3. Check by saying something like: "Is that correct" or "Did I get it?"
4. If not, keep asking for clarification until you understand what was meant.
Note: If the speaker‘s statement is one or two sentences, use roughly the same number of words when you paraphrase it. If the speaker’s statement is many sentences long, summarize it.
Adapted from The ART of Building Training Capacities Manual by Lydia Braakman and Karen Edwards, RECOFTC, page 138.