Discussion Topic - Telephoning
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Discussion Topic - Telephoning.
Part 1: Introduction & Interview
Q. 1. How often do you make telephone calls? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: I have to make calls as often as 10 times a day, if not more, because I like to keep in touch with my friends and families as much as possible. Besides, I live far away from my parents, so I have to make phone calls to them often so that they don’t become worried about me.
Q. 2. Who do you spend the most time talking to on the telephone? [Why?]
Answer: I spend the most time talking with my parents because I live far away from them. Besides, they are getting old, and I like to keep in touch with them as often as possible so that they don’t miss me or feel bad because I am far away from them.
Q. 3. When do you think you’ll next make a telephone call? [Why?]
Answer: First, I will make a phone call to one of my closest friends in my hometown in order to inform him about how I have done in this IELTS test. After that, I would need to make a phone call to my Manager (at my work) to let him know about the time when I would be able to reach the office today. I will also call my parents to let them know how I have done in this exam.
Q. 4. Do you sometimes prefer to send a text message instead of telephoning? [Why/Why not?]
Answer: I prefer to make phone calls instead of sending a text message most of the time because I feel like telephoning makes the conversation more “personal” and “effective”. Besides, with a phone call, we can easily convey the “seriousness” of the messages which just might not be possible with a text message. However, there are times when sending a text message is far more effective than making a phone call like when I need to send someone a phone number or an address.
Q. 5. Do you own a mobile phone?
Answer: Yes, I do own a mobile phone, a smartphone rather, which I purchased about a few months ago because my old phone became slow and sometimes malfunctioned. Anyway, the phone, I have now, is not a very expensive one, but it works for me just fine for now.
Part 3: Details Discussion
Q. 1. How has the telephone changed the way we communicate with each other?
Answer: After Alexander Graham Bell invented a thing called “the telephone” in 1876, it pretty much revolutionized the way people communicate with each other. With this invention, people started to feel that they were certainly a lot more closer to each other than any time in the past as they were able to interact with each other at any time and keep a close bond with families and communities even if they lived in another part of the world. By using this communication device, people today can also run their business and do many important business transactions within hours, if not minutes.
Q. 2. Do young and old people use telephones and mobile phones in the same way?
Answer: Yes, I really like to think that both the young people and old people use their telephones and mobile phones in the same way unless, of course, we are defining young as a “7 years old” and old as a “70 years old”. Besides, given the functionalities of both types of communication device, it is really very hard to suggest that they are “unique” to one particular age group. Having said that, however, when it comes to using mobile phones, the chances are that young people generally tend to use mobile phones a bit more than the old people because old people aren’t exactly as much technologically-savvy as the people of the young generation.
Q. 3. What are the differences between making a phone call and writing a letter to someone?
Answer: There are several differences between making a phone call and writing a letter to someone. But the main difference, of course, is that we hear the voice from the other end and thus making the communication more personal and interactive while writing a letter to someone would make the conversation or communication more formal and less interactive. Another thing is, making a phone call to someone would allow us to have an immediate response and thus leaving almost no or very little room for confusion and misunderstanding while information or contents on a letter can be taken out of context and thus can lead to some misunderstanding.
Q. 4. Which one is a better way of communication - meeting face-to-face or telephoning someone? Why?
Answer: Well, it depends on what kind of communication or conversation one wants to have. However, generally speaking, a face-to-face meeting is better more often than having a telephonic conversation for a couple of reasons. First, a face-to-face meeting would allow us to understand the response of a person in a more ‘practical’ manner as it would help us to watch the facial expression and body language from up close. Besides, face-to-face communication is generally more “credible” than having a talk over the phone as it is more likely to bring the “expected result” in due time.
Q. 5. Do you think mobile phones have more utilities than just to have conversations? How?
Answer: Yes, I do think that smartphones can have more use than just to have conversations if they are connected to the internet. With the internet connection, we can watch many of our favourite movies on our smartphones. We can also watch the live videos of our friends and families on our smartphones even if they live in another part of the world. Besides, smartphones with an internet connection would also allow us to research for all kinds of data and information that may be useful for both of our personal and professional reasons. Finally, a smartphone can also help us find directions, when we are on the road, by using its GPS features.
Q. 6. Has the telephone reduced the communication cost in modern days? How?
Answer: The invention of the telephone certainly has reduced the communication cost in modern days significantly by making it possible to communicate with everybody within a very short period of time, no matter how long the distance is among them. And this holds true when we consider the communication cost of using “rider’, “runner”, “ship” and a telegram before 1867. Then, of course, came a “cellular telephone” called “smartphone”, which has reduced the communication cost even more with the use of internet technology as well as social media networks, chat messengers and other “free calling apps”.
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