1.  Look at the person when you speak. Facial expressions and gestures may carry more meaning than the words for some.


2.  Give your undivided attention by keeping distractions and background noise to a minimum, e.g., turn off the TV.


3.  Be patient and allow the person to finish. Sometimes you may need to fill in or guess. Be sensitive to the abilities and wishes of the person.


4.  Listen to the tone of the voice for additional cues.


5.  Speak slowly and clearly with natural intonation and loudness. Don't overdo your expression and tone.


6.  Use gestures and pointing with your speech.


7.  Try to have pen and paper at the ready. Write down key words from your message. You can even draw to help get your message across.


8.  Repeat and rephrase.


9.  Use simple sentence structure.


10.   Give 1 message at a time. Break down complicated directions into 1 step at a time, e.g, Turn right at the corner. Go to the next light. Turn left.


11.  Confirm that you understood by asking a yes/no question or a restatement of the person's utterance. Ignore errors and poor articulation if you understand the message.


12.  If you do not understand, say so. Then ask yes/no questions to determine the topic and what was said. Encourage the use of gestures, writing and drawing by the aphasic person as some may communicate easier using these alternative ways. Remember you goal is to focus on understanding and facilitating communication success.


13.  Signal change of topics, e.g, Next, I'm going to talk about...


14.  Remember to keep communication relaxed. This will make it easier to talk.


15.  Do not turn every conversation into therapy.