In the lessons Listening Strategy: Point of View and Listening Strategy: Speaker's Purpose we learned listening for the speaker's point of view. This connects with the speaking lesson of Speaking Strategy: Supporting Opinions. You can return to that lesson to review the specific phrases we practiced for responding to an opinion and expressing urgency and suggestions.

Structure

One important thing to think about when listening to an opinion and when expressing your own opinion is structure. First, your opinion should be clearly stated early. That opinion statement is followed by a series of organized reasons and examples. Reasons are typically based on facts or general beliefs, while examples can be more personal or narrative based. The overall opinion is usually stated again at the end of a longer speaking situation (such as a debate). 

It is important to also think about your audience and the context when you explain your opinion.

• Do you know if your audience has an opinion on the topic?
• It the topic familiar to the audience?
• Will technical vocabulary be understood?
• Is this a topic that has a lot of emotional investment for people? In other words, is it a topic where people often get upset when disagreeing with others?
• Is this a conversation where you should be taking turns?
• How long would it be appropriate to speak without stopping to let the other person share his or her thoughts? 
• Is the purpose to persuade or just explain your thoughts about the topic? 

Considering these questions will help you decide how much detail to share, what the social/cultural expectations are for the conversation, and what to expect when you listen to responses.

Word Choice

As stated in the above section, you will have to adapt some of your topic-specific vocabulary depending on your audience. Sharing your opinion on the software the company is using when talking to a coworker at the office would be different than expressing your opinion of it to a friend over dinner. 

Additionally, there are the polite ways to disagree, clarify, and express strong opinions discussed in week 9.

When you are listening to someone speak, you should be able to identify an opinion vs a fact if you think about these things. The speaker's choice of words will signal to you what he or she thinks about the topic. Adjectives, verbs, and adverbs are the easiest words to us to identify the point of view. Intonation and stress clues also help indicate the opinion.

For example:

Emily is an extremely talented artist. (This adverb is very strong in a positive way. It may be a bit of an exaggeration to express opinion.)

That was the worst movie in the series. (The adjective here is subjective. Not everyone will always agree.)

You shouldn't work such long hours. Sleep is essential. (The modal here gives an opinion, which is followed by a supporting fact.)