Encouragement to speak with charm, wasting time (3)
I believe the answer is:
cue
'encouragement' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both related to communication as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cue that I've seen before include "Actor's line to remind another" , "A snooker ball striker" , "Actor's signal" , "Snooker rod" , "Billiards stick" .)