Topical Talk skills

Topical Talk discussions build the essential skills to engage with the world.
Use our assessment tracker to measure the progress your students make or find out more about the skills they will practice in each lesson.

Topical Talk lessons support students to develop the four critical-thinking and communication skills from the Skills Builder Universal Framework: problem-solving, creativity, speaking and listening. These skills are essential for success at school and beyond and are supported by over ten years of evidence-backed research.

In Topical Talk resources you'll find activities that help students practice their speaking, listening, problem-solving and creativity, as well as opportunities to reflect on their progress.

The skills break down into 16 steps, which are grouped into four stages. Each lesson focuses on one of these stages: getting started, intermediate, advanced and mastery. Read more below.

Listening

GETTING STARTED

Listening to others

  • Step 0: I listen to others without interrupting
  • Step 1: I listen to others and remember short instructions
  • Step 2: I listen to others and can ask questions if I don't understand
  • Step 3: I listen to others and can tell someone what it was about
  • Step 4: I listen to others and can tell why they are communicating with me
  • Step 5: I listen to others and record important information as I do

Speaking

GETTING STARTED

Speaking clearly and effectively

  • Step 0: I speak clearly to someone I know
  • Step 1: I speak clearly in small groups of people I know
  • Step 2: I speak clearly to individuals and small groups I do not know
  • Step 3: I speak effectively by making points in a logical order
  • Step 4: I speak effectively by thinking about what my listeners already know
  • Step 5: I speak effectively by using appropriate language
  • Step 6: I speak effectively by using appropriate tone, expression and gesture

Problem-solving

GETTING STARTED

Completing tasks

  • Step 0: I complete tasks by following instructions
  • Step 1: I complete tasks by finding someone to help if I need them
  • Step 2: I complete tasks by explaining problems to someone to get their advice
  • Step 3: I complete tasks by finding information I need myself

Creativity

GETTING STARTED

Imagining and generating ideas

  • Step 0: I imagine different situations
  • Step 1: I imagine different situations and can say what I imagine
  • Step 2: I imagine different situations and can bring them to life in different ways
  • Step 3: I generate ideas when I’ve been given a clear brief
  • Step 4: I generate ideas to improve something
  • Step 5: I generate ideas by combining different concepts

How to measure progress

Topical Talk students make up to 7x the progress of their peers when they take part in regular lessons for at least six weeks, compared to those who have no skills interventions.

To measure the progress of your class, simply use our Skills assessment tracker at the start and end of a series of Topical Talk lessons (we suggest a minimum of six).

Skills assessment tracker

Download