原则三：有铺垫的提问
大家都知道在英语角要做一个多说多练的人，但是如果遇到一个人喜欢主导谈话，不给别人机会发表观点，我们的策略师有机会的时候利用机会，没有机会的时候创造机会然后再利用机会。一般喜欢占据主导的说话者通常也会喜欢被别人提问，这样很有当明星的感觉，每次去英语角和开记者招待会一样，虚荣心可以得到极大的满足。最关键的是每次提问的人只会怯生生地说出一句话，而回答的人可以说出长篇大论的东西，所以最后的结果就是提问者练听力，说话者练口语。遇到这样的情况，突破口就在提问的环节，只要我们提问的时候用N句话，这样就很容易锻炼到我们自己的表达。同时，如果有铺垫的提问也会给回答者一些时间思考答案，他本能不会排斥，毕竟贸然打断提问是一种特别不礼貌的举动。具体的操作方法是首先说出问题的范围，让他有心理准备，然后再呈现出自己对这个问题感兴趣的原因，让他明白提问者的动机，再慢慢的提出这个问题。最起码一个问题也可以用五句话来提，比如how old are you?一个简单问年龄的问题，也可以有很多形式的铺垫，比如 I would like to ask a question about your age if I may. (当然，如果对方直接说no, you may not 或者 sorry, it is not a polite question to ask. 那可以作罢，换下一个问题。)然后接着说出自己对这个问题感兴趣的原因，I don’t mean to intrude in your privacy but as is indicated in lots of cases, people at different age tend to speak and behave in different ways even though their personality and value system have not changed much. That is to say, it is generally possible to tell how old the person is or how he looks at some question or topic by studying his speaking and behaviors. I happened to notice that you do have a special perspective upon the issue or topic we just talked about and it is kind of rare for people at your age to think in this way if I am right about your age. So would you please tell me how old you are? Or are you between 25 and 30? 这样的提问效果显而易见。