Paraphrasing

How to Paraphrase

Paraphrasing is an effective form of verbal feedback to use when listening, however it is not simply repetition or “parroting,” but restating another person’s statement in your own words to gain understanding.

Use your own words to tell what you think the speaker meant, not what they said.

Why paraphrase

Paraphrasing enables the listener to clarify the speaker’s meaning and it conveys interest in what the speaker is saying and helps create a supportive environment for the conversation.

Paraphrasing examples

In this example, the paraphrase allows us to find out that the speaker is concerned that Bill is avoiding him. While this is not what he said initially, the paraphrase revealed what his real meaning was.

Alternately, the speaker could have responded by saying: "Yes, I'm concerned and not at all sure what to do about it." This would also have revealed more about the message that the speaker was trying to communicate.

Here's another example:

In this case, the listener took the wrong meaning for what the speaker said, but when they checked their understanding by paraphrasing, the speaker corrected their understanding.

Remember... use paraphrasing to check your understanding.

You can learn how to paraphrase when you use Communication University.