Someone asks you: “What do you do on weekends?”
You know the words. You even know the answer. But your mouth is not ready, and the silence is growing. What now?
Try something very small. Say the question back: “What do I do on weekends? Well…” While you say it, your brain finds the answer. This is called an echo, like your voice coming back from a mountain. In a podcast episode about not freezing in English, Emily gives it a simple promise: “The echo gives you two or three seconds for free.”
This page shows you the whole move, step by step, and then lets you practise it.
Why saying the question back works
Two good things happen at the same time. First, you get time. The echo is a sentence you do not need to invent, because you have just heard it. Your mouth is busy and your brain can work. Second, the other person knows you understood the question. Paul says it is “a nice bonus.”
It also keeps you calm. When you freeze, the hard part is the first word. With an echo, the first words are already in your ear.
The echo in four parts
Here is the formula. Each part is small.
- Hear the question. Do not translate it. Hold the sentence for one second.
- Say it back, with I. Change the words that point to you into words that point to me.
- Say “Well…” It is a little soft sound that tells the listener: I am thinking, and my answer is coming.
- Answer with something small. One short sentence is enough. Then keep going.
Here are the four examples from the episode, written as the formula:
| The question | Your echo | Then a small answer |
|---|---|---|
| What do you do on weekends? | What do I do on weekends? Well… | (your own answer) |
| What is your favorite food? | What is my favorite food? Well… | I think it is soup. Hot vegetable soup. |
| Where do you live? | Where do I live? Well… | I live in a small apartment. |
| What time do you get up? | What time do I get up? Well… | I get up at seven. |
Read the second and third columns out loud. The answers can be very simple, and that is the point.
Changing you to I: the one small change
Emily asks learners to notice one thing: “The question says you. Your echo says I.” This is the only grammar in the whole move. Most of the time you change two or three small words:
| In the question | In your echo | Example |
|---|---|---|
| you | I | Where do you live? → Where do I live? |
| your | my | What is your name? → What is my name? |
| are you | am I | How old are you? → How old am I? |
| do you | do I | Do you like tea? → Do I like tea? |
| did you | did I | What did you eat? → What did I eat? |
| can you | can I | Can you swim? → Can I swim? |
If you are not sure about a word, say the rest of the question the same way. Your listener will understand, and the echo has already done its job: it gave you time.
Twelve questions with their echoes
Practise saying these in pairs. The first is the question you hear, the second is your echo. The examples in this table are written for this page.
| Question | Echo |
|---|---|
| What do you do for work? | What do I do for work? Well… |
| Where are you from? | Where am I from? Well… |
| How do you come to work? | How do I come to work? Well… |
| What did you do last weekend? | What did I do last weekend? Well… |
| Why do you study English? | Why do I study English? Well… |
| What is your favorite color? | What is my favorite color? Well… |
| When do you have lunch? | When do I have lunch? Well… |
| Who is your best friend? | Who is my best friend? Well… |
| What music do you like? | What music do I like? Well… |
| How often do you cook? | How often do I cook? Well… |
| Where did you go on holiday? | Where did I go on holiday? Well… |
| What are you doing tonight? | What am I doing tonight? Well… |
Cover the right column and try each one. After a week, you will not need the table, because the change from you to I becomes automatic.
A short echo for a short question
A long echo can be too much. When the question is short, make the echo short too (examples written for this page):
- “Where do you live?” → “Where? Well… in a small town.”
- “What time?” → “What time? Well… around seven.”
- “Which one?” → “Which one? Well… the blue one.”
Yes-or-no questions often do not need an echo at all, because the answer is already short. If you need time before a yes or no, use a bridge sentence instead, such as “Good question. Let me think.” You can use both: echo first, then bridge, then answer. Do not make the pause longer than three seconds.
The echo in a real little conversation
A new colleague talks to you on your first day. This dialogue is written for this page.
Colleague: What do you usually do after work?
You: What do I usually do after work? Well… I go home and cook dinner.
Colleague: Nice! What do you like to cook?
You: What do I like to cook? Well… I like pasta. It is easy.
Colleague: Pasta is great. And on weekends?
You: On weekends? Well… I see my friends, or I stay at home.
Notice that the echo is only the start. After “Well…”, the answer is a plain sentence, and you can add one more small sentence. In the second answer there are two: I like pasta. It is easy. That is the whole conversation: echo, small answer, keep going.
Practice 1: make the echo
Write the echo for each question. Say it out loud. The answers follow.
- Where do you work?
- What is your phone number?
- How old are you?
- What did you eat for breakfast?
- Can you cook?
- Why are you late?
Answers
- Where do I work? Well…
- What is my phone number? Well…
- How old am I? Well…
- What did I eat for breakfast? Well…
- Can I cook? Well…
- Why am I late? Well…
Practice 2: echo and answer
Use the echo and add a true answer. There is no wrong answer, but the answer must be small. Here is one model for each question.
- What time do you get up? Model: What time do I get up? Well… I get up at seven.
- Where do you live? Model: Where do I live? Well… I live in a small apartment.
- What is your favorite food? Model: What is my favorite food? Well… I think it is soup.
- What do you do on weekends? Your turn.
- What did you do last night? Your turn.
For 4 and 5, write your own answer on paper, then say the echo and the answer without looking.
Practice 3: three questions from your life
Think of three questions people ask you often at work, in a shop, or on the phone. Write each one, write the echo, and add a small true answer. Keep this list in your pocket for a week and read it before a conversation.
Three honest questions
Will people think I am slow? No. Emily says about bridge sentences, “Nobody thinks, oh, a learner.” People only think that you are thinking. The echo is just another way to say: I am thinking.
Do I use the echo every time? No. Use it when you freeze or when the question is long. If you can answer at once, answer at once.
What if I make a mistake in the echo? Keep going. A small wrong word in the echo is not a problem, and the person will understand you. The goal is a conversation that moves on, not a perfect sentence.
The echo in one list
- Hear the question. Hold it for one second.
- Say it back: you becomes I, your becomes my, do you becomes do I.
- Say “Well…”
- Give one small answer.
- Keep going.
Hear it in a real conversation
Want to hear Paul and Emily practise the echo with real questions, together with a phone call to a barber shop, a gym story and three more steps against freezing? Listen to the episode and read its Show Note: How to Speak English Without Freezing: Paul’s Barber Call, Four Small Steps and Three Real Places. It also has a quiz and a barber-shop role play.