Speaking Evidence Card

Speaking ability has to be heard in a real task. Copy this card into a private note for one explanation, interaction, or repair task at a time. Do not record passwords, client data, unauthorised third-party information, or unnecessary personal details.

1. Define the task and boundary

# Speaking Evidence — YYYY-MM-DD

Real context:
Task: explain / interact / repair / transfer
Listener and relationship:
Time limit:
Completion standard:
Content that must stay private:

Decide what may be recorded or shared first. For client, family, or colleague content, get necessary consent or use fictional details.

2. Save an unaided first take

Recording location:
First-take length:
One-sentence message I want to deliver:
Two details the listener should remember:
First pause or restart:

Do not ask AI to rewrite or script the first take. Its value is showing what you can do without scaffolding.

3. Classify problems by impact

Segment/time	Problem	Does it affect understanding?	One repair for next time
	chunk / pronunciation / grammar / organisation / pause / interaction	yes / no

Repair errors that change meaning, block the task, or recur. An accent difference is not automatically an error; do not sacrifice clarity and naturalness to imitate one speaker.

4. Record interaction repair

What I did not hear or express clearly:
Repair line I used:
How the other person responded:
How I confirmed shared understanding:
Chunk to prepare next time:

Repair actions include asking for repetition, confirming a keyword, rephrasing, requesting thinking time, and summarising agreement. They are part of communication, not proof of failure.

5. Retake and listener feedback

Version	Conditions	Task 0–2	Comprehensibility 0–2	Organisation 0–2	Interaction/repair 0–2	Feedback
First take
Retake

Ask the listener to answer from the recording alone:

1. What was the main point?
2. Which two details were clearest?
3. Which sentence required guessing?
4. What would you ask next?

6. Test delayed transfer

Date	Changed condition	Output	Result
Day 1	Original situation, unscripted	First take and retake
Days 3–7	Related situation or new listener	60–120 second retelling/dialogue
Day 30	New topic, time pressure, or real task	Five-minute explanation/meeting/interview

If fluency appears only with a familiar script, but disappears after the condition changes, make chunk retrieval and interaction repair the next focus instead of memorising more scripts.

Related chapter: Speaking: Make Meaning Arrive