Tips for the training partner (speaker) The clinician will guide you in the use of this manual. Below are also a few tips that may be helpful: • It is a good idea to practise the listening exercises each day at home at the same time, so it is part of your regular routine. • Initially find a quiet part of the home to do the training. • Auditory training is mostly done with hearing alone (without lip reading). The best way to do the training is for the listener to look down so they can’t see the speaker’s face. Avoid covering the speaker’s mouth as this changes the sound of the speech. • Confirm the parts of the recipient’s response that are correct. • The speakers should give positive feedback. Good alternatives to saying “no, that was wrong” are: “listen again”, “nearly right, listen to the end of the sentence again”, or “it sounds a bit like that word but it’s a different word”. • If the recipient has difficulty with the exercise, the speaker may need to modify it using the tips provided in the manual. For example, the speaker can give a clue word, slow down their rate of speech, emphasise particular words or, if needed, let the recipient see the speaker’s face. However, the speaker should always end by saying the word or sentence by hearing alone (without lip reading). • Over time, as the recipient’s listening skills improve, the speaker can make the exercises more challenging by: • increasing the distance between the recipient and the speaker (for example, by sitting across a table) or sitting on the non-implanted side• offering less repeats – encourage more guessing • gradually increasing the noise in the environment by turning on the radio “off station” with static noise in the background, or to a station with music or talking, increasing the volume of the noise as you progress • speaking a little faster.