Day 3 of 30 Days of Intonation: What was that?

Welcome to Day 3! Let's examine a question that can be used to politely ask someone to repeat themselves, show shock and surprise, and respond defensively to a rude comment. All with three short words!

What was that?

Listen to how you can shift the stress within the question in order to express different emotions or attitudes.

We start with "checking and confirming" intonation with a rise at the end in order to show politeness and encourage the listener to repeat him- or herself.

From there, the question can evolve to show different emotions or attitudes. This is why I always say that it might not be your words that were misunderstood, it might be your tone.

Use this simple question to practice stressing each word for effect.

Here's how to get the most out of this challenge: Watch the video once, and then go back, repeat the video, and pause to practice as many times as necessary.

"What was that?" challenges you to really think about what your meaning is and use stress and emphasis to make it extra clear to your listener.

Related Examples: