Tips for listening to the main idea

There are four keys to identifying the main idea in a listening and these are as follows:

Look out for certain phrases these could include :

•  The point I want to make/cover here is …….
• The main point is…..
• The important thing here is …
• What I’m trying to show is ….
• What I’m going to talk about today is…. 
• The purpose of my remark is…. 
• This afternoon I’d like to explain / focus on 

Sometimes the speaker may ask a question to the audience (this is known as rhetorical question). This is also another way to introduce the main idea.

Another way to identify main ideas is to listen for repetition (how many times a word is repeated). If a word is repeated several times it will generally suggest that it is something important

Pace or speed of talking is also an important way to identify what is important. Generally speaking unimportant or small details are spoken more quickly whereas important points such as the “main idea” will spoken more slowly or clearly.

Guided Exercise (Main idea) Listening for Main Idea Indepndent exercise Listening for Main Ideas Independent Exercise