Target Skill Operational Definition Brief Rationale Sample Cues Eye Contact Child displays appropriate eye contact for more than 50% of conversation • People know you’re listening • People feel good when you look at them •  People think you’re nice and want to keep talking to you • When someone starts talking to you • When you start talking to someone else • When someone is talking to another person close to you Beginning Conversation Child appropriately begins conversation by saying “Hi” (or any equivalent, e.g., “What’s up?”) or by introducing themselves • Starting a conversation is the first step for making new friends • If you want to talk to someone, you need to let them know that you are friendly first If you introduce ourselves or say “Hi” before you start talking then people know you are friendly and that you have something you want to tell them. • Saying Hi/Hello first, lets others know you want to get to know them • When you see someone you want to talk to • When someone looks at you • When you see someone you know from school, church, etc. Ending Conversation The child ends the conversation appropriately by saying “Bye” (or some equivalent, e.g. “Talk to you later”). • Once you’ve started talking to someone, you need to let him or her know nicely that the conversation is over. • If you are nice when you end the conversation, the person will want to talk to you again later. • If you aren’t nice and just walk away without saying bye, they might think you are rude and not want to talk to you again next time. • Letting others know you can’t talk to them anymore in a nice way (e.g., by saying “I’ve gotta go! I’ll talk to you later”) let’s the person know you care about them, but that you can’t keep talking at that time. • When it’s time for you to leave • When you have nothing left to say • If the other person says “Bye” Asking Questions The child asks at least one question related to the topic of conversation • People feel good when you ask them a question because it shows you care what they are talking about. • Asking questions helps you get to know other people better and helps you make new friends • Asking questions lets the other person get a chance to talk, which makes them feel good. • If you just finished saying something and the person is waiting for a chance to talk • If you are curious about what the other person is thinking • If you want to start a conversation with someone Nodding and Smiling Child will nod at least twice and smile at least once during the conversation • People like being around you if you nod and smile. • Smiling makes people think you like talking to them and it makes them happy too • Nodding lets people know that you are listening to them and you care about what they are saying. • When someone starts talking to you • When you start talking to someone else • If someone is talking to another person who is close to you.

Table 2: Operational definition, rationale, and cues for conversational targets.