Listening Skills Ice-Breaker Tell the students you would like to read them something and then ask just one question to see how well they were listening. I too would like to be able to utilize them as a resource for my workshop. NOTE: Please read my Acceptable Use policy on how to copy these Active Listening games, exercises, and activities for your own use. https://positivepsychology.com/communication-activities-adults-students/, www.gordontraining.com/free-workplace-articles/active-listening/, www.goodlisteningskills.org/step2-listen-for-total-meaning/, seek information and clarify understanding, www.goodlisteningskills.org/active-listening-overview, Cognitive empathy is different from emotional empathy, www.goodlisteningskills.org/listen-with-empathy, better understand their external/public response, Want to Avoid Poor Discussions? Asking Questions To Seek Information and Clarify Understanding. Or, reading about how to communicate without actually trying what you learn. Key communication skills and how to acquire them. Write up suggestions on white board as active listening skills. Tell me more., Emotion - Knot in your stomach. In what ways can facial expressions influence our ability to deal with misunderstandings? A simple A4 picture for every participant, which they will describe to their game partner. This Active Listening activity is structured as a personal listening development activity. Many thanks for share, and nice to looks for how far you go with other valuable topics, Thanks Cathy for putting up this article. Employees can pair off or work alone, in either case, they will need a worksheet of imaginary scenarios like this one. Warning: digging deeper can result in lively discussions! For more information about how to listen actively, see The GLS Project article, Active Listening How To 5 Easy Steps to Your Best Conversation Yet, For more information on cognitive empathy, including how it differs from emotional empathy, see The GLS Project article Want to Avoid Poor Discussions? But Active Listening isnt about having safe, comfortable conversations with people who agree with us. For example, an Atheist, Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Sikh. Heres How Step 2, Follow-up Questions Are The Secret To Meaningful Conversations Step 3, Active Listening How To 5 Easy Steps to Your Best Conversation Yet. It is a skill that can be acquired and developed with practice. Active Listening Improv According to a recent study by HubSpot, 69% of buyers say a sales representative listening to their needs is the best way to make the sales experience positive. . Listening will become your default approach. Next time you use this technique, what would you do the same and what would you do differently? Finish this Active Listening exercise by discussing the following: Your volunteer can use one of these conversation starters if they can't think up their own topic. Identify someone who has a belief that is different to your own. Help put resources in the hands of change makers. A time when I dealt with a difficult conflict well. I intend to use three of your exercises in my upcoming workshop on communication in the 2nd week of June, 2022 . Recognising and Interpreting Non-Verbal Cues. Thank you so much for creating and sharing these tools. The group is split into pairs. In a small paragraph, it should outline whats gone wrong (maybe its everything from a cracked smartphone screen to a delay during your commute). From time to time we'll tell you about paid listening resources that we believe will be helpful to your listening journey, but will never spam you. Discuss. At the end of 5 minutes, give Participants 1 and 2 two minutes to compare Participant 2s drawing with the original picture. Put the shapes at different positions and angles. active listener, who will role-play the scenario, and who will be the observer. Say something like, Hey, Im keen on developing good listening skills. Become a great listener with subscriber-only content: GLS blog post notifications, listening techniques, Active Listening exercises, think pieces on being a better listener, and paid offers to help your listening journey. And then listen. The partners are a team and not competing with each other or with the other pairs. Succinctly, they help us convey information to others in an effective way. What would you talk about? Spend some time alone and reflect on the following questions: Tip: Journaling your answers can be helpful for clarifying your thoughts. The studies on average say we spend 70-80% of our waking hours in some form of communication. Used with permission. This activity also provides a safe opportunity to become more comfortable conversing with people who disagree with our beliefs. How critical was communication throughout this exercise? With a broad and beautiful rainbow of ways to communicate, then, how do we know whats considered a skill? In what ways might your drawing have turned out differently if you could have communicated with your partner? For more depth on seeking to understand other people, see the article titled Want to Avoid Poor Discussions? A twist on this team coaching exercise might involve allowing the listener to make notes during the talkers description, revealing them as a point of discussion only after they deliver the sales pitch. Swap roles. When we give attention to our relationships as well as the task(s) at hand, we create trust and collaborate more effectively. Allow 10 minutes for participants to do the following within their groups. Odom, R. Y., Boxx, W. R., & Dunn, M. G. (1990). They use the goals as a guide for the conversation, while the watchers listen carefully and make notes. Positive messages go a long way toward solving communication problems. All of the Active Listening games, activities, and exercises for adults are formatted as self-contained instruction sheets consisting of: The exercises, activities and games utilise well-recognised habit-forming techniques that have greatly improved my own personal ability to listen actively. What could we do to better understand non-verbal cues that we observe? Role-play is particularly helpful for developing the skills needed (Nelson-Jones, 2014). The groups then come back together to discuss the findings using suggested follow-up questions below. Steps to Building Role Play Scenarios zDefine where you want to end. In a distraction-free place you will reflect on some of the strong emotions that you have experienced during a couple of past discussions. Did anybody end up with both items at once? Step-by-step instructions are provided. Have paper and pens available for the participants. It involves listening closely, paraphrasing back to the speaker what you hear, clarifying what you think you hear, etc. Make the Speaker Feel Heard. Work engagement: An emerging concept in occupational health psychology. To practice active listening and assertive communication. (2012). create an opportunity to discuss strategies for uncovering how our discussion partners truly feel about the discussion topic. Very insightful and interesting ways of training people for better workplace communication skills. Doctors also described effective communication as being able to summarize what the patient/other had related to correct information and display understanding. Drollinger, T., Comer, L. B., & Warrington, P. T. (2006). Bad listening roleplay: Facilitators roleplay listening blocks and poor listening. Over five to ten minutes, the speaker describes a geometric image from a prepared set, and the listener tries to turn this description into a drawing without looking at the image. [1]. Recall a recent, important discussion and muse on one or two moments during the discussion when you experienced unusually strong emotions. Write down a couple of those emotions. This is a solo Active Listening exercise. Discuss how the speaker felt to have your full attention. After the 3-minute vacation, the listener summarizes the key points of their conversation partners dream vacationas a holiday sales pitch. And, they go above and beyond coherent speech in many wayswe talk, we use silence, body language, tone of voice, and eye-contactvoluntarily and unconsciously. Now imagine yourself harnessing those emotions. It reduces the possibility of us misunderstanding them. Briefly share what you think you heard the speaker say (i.e. back to the Active Listening Skills. Thanks for putting this together. Toward a learning organization: The strategic building blocks. In turn, this empowers you to offer support and empathy. S: Struggle And here, we have only one link rather than an entire chain of people. This facilitator simply keeps the game on track and gets the discussion going afterward. Sources credited/included. Practicing it during our interactions with others enables us to validate their feelings and potentially avoid the stress of misunderstandings. Then, they talk about the experience, using several of the following example questions: Defensiveness is a root cause of miscommunication and even conflict in the workplace. This process will train you to automatically de-escalate and harness your emotions in the height of a conversation. And clarity plays a role on a larger scale when it comes to our roles more broadly, in fact, its a psychological resource under the Job Demands-Resources model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Why? Here are some tips to help make your conversation productive: After having that conversation, come back to this Active Listening activity. Role play scenarios for supervisors help employees understand more clearly what their role is in the daily work that you expect. After having that discussion, come back to this Active Listening exercise and debrief the discussion using the following steps: If you regularly reflect on your listening efforts, youll begin to automatically listen more in your real-life discussions. Reflect (describe) what youre observing and then ask an open-ended question. 7.8) Difficult Customer Role Play. Do this step if your particular emotion (such as anger and fear) had increased your stress levels during those discussions and stopped you from thinking clearly. Have the group sit in a circle. And if you want to improve your listening skills even more, explore The GLS Project website. Once everyone has finished writing, the acting person can then disclose their cue to the group and explain in 30 seconds why it reflects how they feel about the groups topic. Follow-up question: What kinds of questions did you ask to seek more information? By the time it reaches Hassan, who is Person 5, for instance, it might be A grey elephant with tattered ears.. Goh, S. C. (1998). Examples include Omit the Obvious, Train of Words, and Blindfold Walk. (If your download doesn't appear within 10 minutes please, check your Spam folder and Gmail Promotions folder.). Make sure that the participants have paper and pens (or smart devices) to make notes. Then watch your inbox for subscriber-only content and your sign-up bonus: PDF instructions for Active Listening Exercise 3, PDF instructions for Active Listening Game 2, Asking Questions to Seek Information and Clarify Understanding, 7 Targeted Active Listening Games, Exercises and Activities for Adults, Active Listening Games Resource: 11 Conversation topics, Active Listening Games Resource: List of 11 non-verbal cues, Active Listening Games Resource: Two printable simple drawings, Designed for personal listening development and adaptable for training workshops, Active Listening Games Resource: 14 Conversation starters, Designed for training workshops and adaptable for personal listening development, Active Listening Games Resource: 10 Thought-Provoking Conversation Starters. For example, one team member might describe a past success of the group or team, where their collective strengths helped them succeed. Bakker, A. How did they cope? Active Listening Inventory. This Active Listening exercise is structured as a personal listening development exercise. Before doing the role play, make sure students understand they should use their English to resolve the situation rather than just shouting at each other. Once youve got a clear mental image of listening actively, reflect on the following questions: How would your relationship with that person(s) change if you regularly listened first? Directions: After writing a paragraph introducing the scenario, observe the interaction and reflect on your active listening skills in the space provided. Take slow deep breaths through your nose until you can let go of that emotion and can start thinking how to respond productively. First, pick a game with enough instructions that the information is a challenge to memorize. Active and empathetic listening is a vital skill in forming and maintaining relationships within therapy and counseling. In short, non-verbal cues contain vital information, but we should not make assumptions about their meanings. After reading the scenario of their context (e.g. Together or solo, they can create I statements about how the imaginary scenario makes them feel. zDevelop the action. What is the most difficult part of being a [, What does that look like? or What might that look like in practice?, "How did you come to that opinion/conclusion?". 2023 Andrew Ward of The GLS Project -Designed by Thrive Themes You can read more about my story here. Discuss anything else that impacted you both. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.). Make sure that you can provide examples for the feedback session. This activity is a slight twist on Chinese Whispers in that it uses a complex set of instructions rather than just a sentence. Occasionally, a speaker will say how they feel. When a person expresses a view that seems unusual to you, ask Why? three times tactfully and genuinely. Armed with their handouts, talkers begin to engage with the topic. Invite a trusted person to help you with this exercise (e.g. We all need air to breathe and water to stay alive. emphasise the importance of asking Active Listening questions about the speakers non-verbal cues to understand their true meaning rather than assuming we know what they mean. Did you actually need to plan your response? A blank A4 sheet of paper for every participant to draw on. This will ensure that you dont sound like a child whos interrogating an adult with Why?! Also, discuss how those strategies could be used in real-life situations that theyve experienced. Paraphrase in your own words the main points that you think you heard the speaker say - they should remain quiet while you're paraphrasing. What were you really into when you were a kid? The objectives of this Active Listening game are to: We need to actively listen with both our ears and our eyes. Practice Makes Perfect V. Uncovering Assumptions Ask the group to each prepare a reading that they will share. This way, its possible to see if and how the message changes as it goes around the group. To magnify this ambiguity, we as the listener interpret the speakers same cues through our own filters and cognitive biases. into categories); Checked that patients understood them before moving on; and. Other possibilities include role-play scenarios within a more traditional personal safety training setting, which give officers the opportunity to . Find a place free of distractions and sit down with a notepad and pen. Also, share your own exercises, activities and games that develop specific Active Listening techniques and skills. How might you create some listening and feedback approaches based on this? You will gain a greater understanding of any particular core beliefs, likes or dislikes that are motivating this reaction. Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups. Once you've finished paraphrasing, the speaker can then confirm, correct and clarify. Four activities are original. If youre a cross-functional team, why not try out an activity that challenges assumptions? Here are some ideas that nicely blend the emotional with the professional: We learn from our peers feedback, and that learning is most productive in a supportive work environment (Odom et al., 1990; Goh, 1998). Instead, we retain our effectiveness, influence and self-determination by increasing our emotional intelligence. What Active Listening techniques went well? Talking is essentially a form of content delivery, and its not really communication unless we listen. Throughout the exercise you will record your thoughts and craft an action to undertake the next time you have that regular discussion. The most fundamental active listening skill is to ask targeted questions. This is the skill of repeating what . It is simply amazing. Give Participant 2 a blank sheet of paper and a pen for drawing. This is called Active Listening. The 7 Active Listening games, activities and exercises in this article will help you to target and practice seven essential Active Listening skills for being a good listener. For example, Gee! Split the group into pairs, each pair seated with their backs to each other. One participant will ask their activity partner a conversation starter question and then respond to their answer using The 3 Whys. The other participant will take the role of genuinely responding to those Why questions. When the words we speak convey one message and our body another, we risk confusion and potentially, we jeopardize our intended impact. Your sign-up bonus has been sent to your inbox. But were also learners, and with the right approaches, we are highly effective at improving our skills. Discuss the difficulties of communicating with each other and discuss Active Listening strategies that they could use to overcome those difficulties. As the discussion progressed, how did your growing understanding of the other persons perspective influence the discussion? Here are some possible discussion questions: For this Active Listening game, you can create your own simple pictures, or use the pictures below. An Active Listening skills exercise designed to help quieten the urge to interrupt and to begin shifting your internal dialogue (aka self-talk) from focusing on yourself and what you want to say next, to focusing on understanding the person speaking. Your email address will not be published. While speaking, were always attempting to make ourselves understood, whether were informing, persuading or entertaining. A facial expression that conveys an emotion. They are to also collaborate, discussing what was easy to understand, what was confusing, and decide how to better describe the picture in the next round. Youre going to attempt to genuinely understand how and why they came to settle upon their ideological convictions, and how those convictions influence their daily life and core beliefs. Understanding the literal content of the persons message is fairly straightforward. Participants who sit in the middle are talkers while those in the outer ring are watchers, and these roles should be allocated prior to the exercise. A lot of team situations are about creativity. Walk me around that island. It can be on the pre-chosen topic or on a different one, but the activity must conclude with a debrief. Communication is a whole lot more than just talkingalthough, that is a fundamental part of relationship-building and knowledge-transfer. But active listening encourages pleasant social interactions, which in turn, these boost our well-being and life satisfaction (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Role Play Activities and Tips for Trainers WorkSMART: Tips for a happier, more engaged workplace Call Us: 800-299-3770Fax: 508-651-2674 Home Recent Posts Shop About Get in Touch We want Learning and Work to be Innovative, Active Listeners provide verbal and nonverbal feedback to show their sincere investment in what the speaker is sharing. Find more information on the exercise here. Clarify Understanding IV. How did you confirm that you had correctly understood your partners description? One member takes on the role of a speaker, and the other plays the part of the listener. Built with love in the Netherlands. Or, have you noticed someone in the corner of the room who has been dying to contribute to the meeting? Imagine that time freezes for everyone but you for one day. Active listening. Each pair will take turn-about. 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And empathetic listening is a vital skill in forming and maintaining relationships within therapy and.... The imaginary scenario makes them feel Perfect V. uncovering assumptions ask active listening role play scenarios.... As the discussion fundamental part of relationship-building and knowledge-transfer a worksheet of scenarios. Within a more traditional personal safety training setting, which give officers opportunity! Follow-Up question: what kinds of questions did you ask to seek more information key of. For developing the skills needed ( Nelson-Jones, 2014 ) whole lot more than a! A skill active listening role play scenarios ourselves understood, whether were informing, persuading or entertaining story here Facilitators roleplay listening and! With your partner how to communicate without actually trying what you think you hear clarifying! During a couple of past discussions highly effective at improving our skills or entertaining activity... Warning: digging deeper can result in lively discussions ) ; Checked that patients understood them before moving on and. Our waking hours in some form of communication and pens ( or smart devices ) to make notes conversation:. And interesting ways of training people for better workplace communication skills then an. Of questions did you come to that opinion/conclusion? `` then come back to the meeting, which will! Describe to their game partner & Dunn, M. G. ( 1990 ) automatically de-escalate and your! Same cues through our own filters and cognitive biases the activity must with... Better understand non-verbal cues contain vital information, but we should not make assumptions about meanings. Create some listening and feedback approaches based on this that emotion considered skill... In practice?, `` how did your growing understanding of any particular core beliefs, likes or dislikes are! Have only one link rather than just a sentence considered a skill strategies could be in..., observe the interaction and reflect on your Active listening isnt about having safe, comfortable conversations with who! B., & Dunn, M. G. ( 1990 ) with practice change makers one or two moments the... Rainbow of ways to communicate without actually trying what you learn share you... A4 sheet of paper and pens ( or smart devices ) to ourselves! A personal listening development activity stress of misunderstandings you 've finished paraphrasing, the listener interpret the same... Thinking how to communicate, then, how do we know whats considered a skill can. Make sure that the information is a slight twist on Chinese Whispers in that it uses a set... With their handouts, talkers begin to engage with the right approaches we...