That’s a tough question

Abi | Jun 19, 2026Jun 19, 2026

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this ESL lesson on difficult conversations are to:

• talk about challenging conversations;
• practise key phrases for navigating difficult dialogues;
• watch a short video where an athlete responds to negative feedback;
• role-play navigating uncomfortable topics.

In this lesson, students discuss what makes a question tough, talk about reactions to challenging topics and watch a video in which an athlete responds to criticism of her Olympic results. They explore short dialogues, review useful phrases for managing difficult conversations (e.g. That’s an interesting perspective to take, but…) and role-play asking and answering tough questions.

WARM-UP AND VIDEO

This ESL lesson on difficult conversations begins with a warm-up. Students look at the lesson title and say what makes a question tough. They then decide which questions (e.g. How much do you earn?) might fall into this category and explain. After that, students examine different situations (e.g. a job interview, a family dinner, a date) and do tasks. They create tough questions, share experiences and give opinions. Moving on, students watch the beginning of a video featuring an athlete at a press conference. They discuss why they think the question makes her laugh. Then, students watch the rest of the video and check. Following that, they complete some phrases the athlete uses (e.g. I think that’s an answer in and of itself). Next, students watch the video again and verify their answers. Afterwards, they discuss uncomfortable questions in public and personal situations. 

USEFUL PHRASES AND ROLE-PLAY

In this part of this ESL lesson on difficult conversations, students read questions and discuss what might make them hard to answer. They then match each question with its corresponding answer. Following that, students read the answers from the exchanges again. They identify phrases (e.g. Let me collect my thoughts on that for a moment.) for functions related to difficult conversations (e.g. delaying/avoiding an answer, softening disagreement). Moving on, students rewrite responses in short dialogues using the phrases from the previous exercise and adding more details. Afterwards, students get role-play cards and work in pairs. Student A asks challenging questions using the prompts on their card. Student B answers them using the target phrases from the lesson and their own ideas. Then, they choose a different situation and swap roles.

HOMEWORK/REVISION

This ESL lesson on difficult conversations also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students choose the correct options to complete the beginnings of answers to job interview questions. They then complete some answers with their own ideas. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.

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