How do you encourage your toddler to talk?

[Ryatha]

I have always started with the word that is most important in the sentence that DD's wanted to say and get them to repeat it after me (unless obviously they are upset) and then repeat it back to them. So with being picked up, if they put their arms up to me I would say 'say please' and when they did they got picked up. When they did this without prompting then I would say 'up please' and so on until she now comes up to me and says 'please can you pick me up mummy?' LOL she just came up to me and did that

I also explain what I am doing all the time to the kids and repeat the important words. Reading books also helps I found. But like the others have said, kids will start talking when they are ready. And when they are 8 you'll wish they'd stop for 5 mins

[CoNNiE_Melb]

My little one has just started saying more words, but he still doesn't specificy exactly what he wants to eat. So I generally run through a list of things till he says "yeth" (yes), but these days does he just seems to say yes to everything, 2 months ago it was No to everything.
At 16 months we used to let him go to the fridge or pantry and point out what he wanted.

I think 16 months is a little young to be expecting too many words, only recently have I been able to point at things in a book and has he been able to say 'shoes, socks, pants' etc... I think the best way to go about it, as the ladies have said it lots of repetition. I point at pictures in books and say 'Whats that?' If he knows it, he will try to say it and then I will say 'Well done' and repeat the word. If he doesnt know it, I say the word a couple of times.

You will get there, there is just a tough period where they have opinions/needs but can't express them, and you're in that now!