Positive messages go a long way toward solving communication problems. Describe a book thats had an impact on your life. What happened? Or, reading about how to communicate without actually trying what you learn. Benefits: As discussed, information delivery is crucial, but our focus here is opening up discussions. After fifteen minutes of discussion, the watchers and talkers switch circlesthose who were listening before now sit on the inner circle for a fifteen-minute conversation. Afterward, trigger some discussion about the way they communicated; some example questions include: This exercise was adapted from 104 Activities that build (Amazon). Were you distracted by the other pairs and if so how? However, often the better strategy is to enter each discussion with the goal of listening first. Players stand in a circle and pass two of the objects along to each other. Or, have you noticed someone in the corner of the room who has been dying to contribute to the meeting? Nikolova, N., Clegg, S., Fox, S., Bjrkeng, K., & Pitsis, T. (2013). It is being attentive and respectful to the person talking. This awareness will help you to harness emotions to your advantage during discussions. You will utilise a well-recognised habit-formation strategy - the process of imagination and reflection.' 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. What feelings do we understand the easiest, when only facial expressions are used? 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. Make sure that you can provide examples for the feedback session. Our intended messages arent always interpreted as we mean them to be. Here are four training activities, suggested by Caroline Cooper, that will help you to develop active listening in your contact centre. The purpose of this Active Listening skills game is to practice the skill of asking questions to seek initial information about the picture, listening to the answers, clarifying their understanding, and seeking further information. Very insightful and interesting ways of training people for better workplace communication skills. 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. II. Active listening involves attentively seeking to understand a speaker's message, rather than passively hearing the words that a speaker says. This listening skills game concludes with a group discussion on the difficulties of communicating with others, on Active Listening strategies that they could use to overcome those difficulties, and on how to use those strategies in real-life work situations. Maguire and Pitcheathlys (2002) clinical review offered several learning tips, the first of which was an emphasis on proper communication skills training. Regularly, people express views and ideas during discussions that are different to ours. Odom, R. Y., Boxx, W. R., & Dunn, M. G. (1990). How might you create some listening and feedback approaches based on this? Everyone knows the directions, and most people enjoy playing. As a result, we have developed a customer centric process for sales. Identify someone who has a belief that is different to your own. Have the group sit in a circle. Goh, S. C. (1998). Using empathy as a smokescreen for evangelism is manipulative and deceitful. Developing emotional intelligence in high potential middle managers: The role of experiential learning. Asking Questions To Seek Information and Clarify Understanding. 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. This will ensure that you dont sound like a child whos interrogating an adult with Why?! In EURAM Conference, Munich, Germany. Why? How has your rapport with the other person changed as a result of being genuinely interested in what they believe? Doctors described empathy in terms of feedback and validation. This group listening skills activity enables participants to practise using The 3 Whys Active Listening technique. Tell them their shared aim is to collaborate: first to find the rope, then to lay it out into a perfect square together on the floor. What steps did you take to ensure your instructions were clear? Record your thoughts on the notepad. zDevelop the character. How much does language affect our thinking? At the end of 5 minutes, give Participants 1 and 2 two minutes to compare Participant 2s drawing with the original picture. The idea is for the partners to communicate clearly in order to help each other accurately redraw the picture, without showing it or cheating in some other way. Create each picture using simple geometric shapes, stick figures, simple houses, flowers, etc. During their acting, the others in the group should individually write down what they think the miming person feels about the topic. Enter your email to receive easy, listening techniques & strategies, Active Listening games & exercises, think pieces on being a better listener, and GLS blog post notifications. Psychological safety, trust, and learning in organizations: A group-level lens. Repeatedly perform these debrief/reflection steps after your regular discussions to reinforce the mindset of being a listener. Employees can pair off or work alone, in either case, they will need a worksheet of imaginary scenarios like this one. Ellen then needs to ask A What?, prompting you to repeat the items name. Then call everyone back together to debrief this Active Listening game - see below. Special thanks to C. B. Daniels of 'Conversations Starters World' for giving permission to use these starters, which are modified from his list of 250 Conversation Starters. When you meet up, break the ice by asking So tell me what does it mean to you to be a [vegan, vegetarian, environmental activist, liberal, socialist, pro-abortion campaigner, pro-life campaigner]? They are designed for adults (not children) and suitable for both personal listening development and workplace training workshops. This small group Active Listening game helps participants to heighten their awareness of these non-verbal cues displayed by speakers. Step 2: After the five-minute role play is completed, the speaker spends two minutes giving feedback to the listening partner on the effective listener skills used. Use specific scenarios students experience on a day-to-day basis in an office setting. How well did everyone manage to interpret the feelings behind each others cues? You can further enhance the impact of role-play in . In a larger group of participants, this can be done multiple times as players pair up with different conversation partners. Did you actually need to plan your response? Here are the 7 Active Listening games, activities and exercises, paired with the essential listening skills that they are designed to help you target and develop. Did others help them? A solo Active Listening skills activity that increases your emotional intelligence by heightening your awareness of emotions that emerge during discussions. What factors sometimes prevent us from asking questions when they might actually be useful? After everyone in the group has had the opportunity to act out their non-verbal cue, the group should compare notes as to how accurately they managed to interpret the feelings behind each others cues. 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. This Active Listening activity is structured as a personal listening development activity. In these pairs, they will take turns being a mime and being an asker. How could these be applied in real-life interactions? Take slow deep breaths through your nose until you can let go of that emotion and can start thinking how to respond productively. Why?! With active listening, the speaker is given the time and space to speak as much as they want. Swap roles. Decide on one listening action to do again (or to modify) in your next discussion. Development and validation of the active empathetic listening scale. Follow-up question: What kinds of clarifying questions did you ask? Breaking into pairs, group participants take turns asking Active Listening questions about a simple drawing that they cannot see in order to draw it as accurately as possible. Just listen in silence and try to understand the speaker. 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. Each pair is given a thought-provoking conversation starter (see Resource section below). Checked whether they wanted further information. Unless its either terrible or completely absent. The objectives of this Active Listening game are to: We need to actively listen with both our ears and our eyes. Briefly reflect on what did and didnt work. A third skill is reflecting (Robertson, 2005). It works with any sized team and requires only a facilitator and some novel objects that can be passed between participants. Listen With Empathy, Non-Verbal Cues Help Avoid Misunderstandings. For more depth on seeking to understand other people, see the article titled Want to Avoid Poor Discussions? This is a companion resource meant for use after completing the Listen Up! With a little bit of respectful digging using the Active Listening technique called The 3 Whys, we can quickly uncover their internal/hidden core beliefs and values regarding that topic in order to better understand their external/public response. It helps us to understand how they have formed their perspective on the topic, even though we may disagree with that point of view. Enjoyed it. Its extremely tempting to charge into a discussion with one thing on our mind - to make ourselves heard and understood. Developing Cognitive Empathy with Your Discussion Partner. What kinds of questions might you have asked? [3]. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.). Key communication skills and how to acquire them. The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Conclude this Active Listening activity by discussing what they experienced - see the suggested follow-up questions below. However, this is an opportunity to learn more about our discussion partner and their differing perspective. Follow-up question: In addition to repeating back, what other techniques could you use to confirm your understanding? Hello, Im Andrew Ward and Im the Kiwi guy writing most of the stuff on this website. So, enjoy! It could be a weekly meeting with a work colleague, the daily family time around the dinner table, or a mid-week lunch catch-up with a friend. Why?!. By empathizing, we not only build better relationships, but we show that we are available as key job resources social support for those around us to reduce the negative impacts of our job demands (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Give each person at least 4 minutes to speak and to listen. Only speak in order to ask genuine questions. Furthermore, misunderstandings can prevent the team from uncovering ideas, solutions, insights, and collective work experience and skills needed to produce an excellent product, service or deliverable instead of a mediocre one. In what ways can facial expressions influence our ability to deal with misunderstandings? Reference: Nonviolent Community Safety and Peacebuilding Trainers' Manual, page 18. Step-by-step instructions are provided. Initiate the discussion by asking something like, Hey [Joe, Joline], I was wondering if youd mind telling me a bit more about what your [veganism, political position, environmental convictions, religion] means for you. We can look at Learys Rose for more insights on how and why, but this time, the tip is to understand when to communicate or step back (Leary, 2004). Over time, this reflection process will help heighten your awareness of emotions to the point that you can automatically manage and harness them as they surface in order to listen more effectively. It doesnt take very long, either, and can be played in as little as ten to twenty minutesperfect for breaking up the day. Nonverbal communication. Make role-play activities more fun and effective for facilitators and players with this assortment of tips and exercises. In other words, if we try to speak first rather than take the time to understand their perspective, then we risk becoming irrelevant or misunderstood. You will need about ten meters of rope and a safe place for employees to walk around blindfolded in. This exercise introduces I statements, which describe others behavior objectively while allowing the speaker to express the impact on their feelings. Why might that be? What did you find the toughest about this activity? Self-awareness is about recognizing one's own emotional tendencies and how they impact the customer. After the 3-minute vacation, the listener summarizes the key points of their conversation partners dream vacationas a holiday sales pitch. Possible imagined response: How does your idea solve our situation? What activity causes you to feel like you are living life to the fullest? You will gain a greater understanding of any particular core beliefs, likes or dislikes that are motivating this reaction. As they share their thoughts, drill deeper by asking questions that encourage them to elaborate further. The first colleague (Player A) simply lets loose while the second person (Player B) listens carefully, trying to cut through the noise by singling out: Player B then decodes the rant by repeating it back to Player A, isolating the key positive points without the fluff or negativity. A lot of team situations are about creativity. Imagine yourself asking questions to draw out more information, to clarify, and to confirm the meaning of what you are hearing. This exercise comes from a Teambuilding Facilitation Manual: A Guide to Leading and Facilitating Teambuilding Activities, by Penn State University. Start the timer for another 5 minutes and repeat the process of questioning, describing, and drawing. Explain first up that the goal of the task is effective verbal communication, and give each participant a blindfold. When the words we speak convey one message and our body another, we risk confusion and potentially, we jeopardize our intended impact. [1]. Excellent content and I cant wait to use some of this content as well. 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. [1]. Was your understanding of the description you received the same as your partners understanding of the description they relayed? Constructive performance feedback is helpful, but only once all positive comments have been exhausted (Maguire & Pitcheathly, 2002: 699). What about their dynamics? Communication is a whole lot more than just talkingalthough, that is a fundamental part of relationship-building and knowledge-transfer. Together, the pairs can come up with more productive, empathetic, and appropriate responses, with the acting experience fresh in mind. This is the perfect opportunity to congratulate them or start a discussion about what they might do differently the next time around. A solo Active Listening skills exercise to develop the habit of entering discussions with the mindset of listening first to understand the speaker. Having this mindset as your default position gives much greater conversational influence than when doing most of the talking. Very useful for my Communicare sessions. Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). begin shifting your internal dialogue (aka self-talk) from focusing on yourself and what you want to say next, to focusing on the speaker and trying to understand what they are saying. Think of a specific, regular discussion time that youre involved in. Perception of emotions is a key component of Mayer and Saloveys emotional intelligence framework and covers the ability to read others non-verbal cues as well as their potential moods (Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Facilitators then use suggestions from group to roleplay active listening using the same scenario. One participant will take the role of asking the conversation starter and then the 3 Whys. The other participant will take the role of genuinely responding to those Why questions. How about a chance to blow off some steam and get that empathetic listening ear at the same time? A time when I dealt with a difficult conflict well. Write the topics on separate pieces of paper. 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. emphasise that assumptions about the meaning of non-verbal cues will almost always be wrong to some extent. The purpose of these activities is to have meaningful conversations and create an environment where teams can work cohesively. And as more than one collective intelligence researcher has pointed out, teams are more than the sum of their parts (Woolley et al., 2010). The observer should see if the active listener is employing active listening techniques listed on the handout. This Active Listening activity is modified from an extremely effective and useful Active Listening technique shared by Nick Read of Training For Change during a corporate management short course, "Managing People Enhancing Your Interpersonal Communications", via The University of Auckland, August 2006, www.training4change.co.nz. Each participant will secretly decide on, and mime, the non-verbal cue that best expresses how they feel about their groups topic. Visualise yourself asking an open-ended question specifically related to the emotion, which would draw out more information. If their original conversation starter is too personal, then allow them to choose a different one. The doctors studied also checked with their patients what their beliefs were about what was wrong. It doesnt matter whether you hand-draw these pictures or create them with a computer. This approach means engaging in a three-part role-play exercise: 1. How was being a watcher, compared to being a listener? Facilitator asks group what they could have done to listen well. Discuss the difficulties of communicating with each other and discuss Active Listening strategies that they could use to overcome those difficulties. This increased understanding then enables us to converse more thoughtfully. Dont forget to download our three Positive Communication Exercises (PDF) for free. How critical was communication throughout this exercise? Ask the group to each prepare a reading that they will share. Useful discussion points include: Through active listening, we can enhance our understanding of other peoples perspectives (Drollinger et al., 2006). What other thoughts and insights do you have about this technique? Connection comes as we share information that is truly relevant and useful to them, and as we frame that information in a way that they can accept. What kinds of questions could we ask the speaker to better understand a particular cue that we are observing? Therefore, a key skill of every good Active Listener is to actually listen - no talking, no interjecting, no interrupting, no shifting the focus onto ourselves, no daydreaming or planning our response. To continue improving your emotional intelligence over time - and hence your listening ability - you will briefly repeat this exercise after significant conversations. An Active Listening skills activity for pairs (or done with a volunteer). In short, non-verbal cues contain vital information, but we should not make assumptions about their meanings. Armed with their handouts, talkers begin to engage with the topic. Built with love in the Netherlands. Shaikh Muhammad Ali - Islamabad, Pakistan, download our three Positive Communication Exercises (PDF) for free. That applies both to our language and the extent to which we empathize. We hate it with a passion!View our Privacy Policy& Terms of Use. This is a solo Active Listening exercise. Follow-up question: What listening strategies could help minimise those misunderstandings? This worksheet provides role play exercises to help with practicing active listening advocacy skills. Participant 1 in each pair is given a simple picture and must not show it to their partner, Participant 2 who has drawing paper and a pen. Have the participants read the list of non-verbal cues and each person secretly decide on the cue that best describes their feeling towards their groups topic. quieten those urges to interrupt in order to jump in with your comments. Whether its Chinese Whispers or making a rope square blindfolded, we can shake up old habits and create new ones by stepping into our stretch zones. One member takes on the role of a speaker, and the other plays the part of the listener. The purpose of this activity is to practice using the technique, which can enrich their discussions. Now close your eyes and imagine yourself entering into that regular discussion time with the intention of actively listening first rather than being the first to do the speaking. The other participants try to guess that emotion and this should lead to a talk about the role of expressions. Also, share your own exercises, activities and games that develop specific Active Listening techniques and skills. Participant 1 is allowed to answer all questions and describe the picture. After theyve pitched the ideal vacation spot in the space of a few minutes, the pair discuss how accurately the listener understood the talker. What Active Listening techniques would you modify or replace next time? Role-play. Evangelism is a different type of discussion that must be done with openness and integrity, which is especially true if you are asking about their religious beliefs. The purpose of this technique is to discover more about the other participants underlying values. Then they will swap roles for another 5 minutes with a new picture. For example, happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, disgust, indifference, boredom, nervousness, confusion, feeling of guilt. zDevelop the environment. To use this technique, students act out skills after discussing them. The group will also discuss how those strategies could be used in real-life situations that theyve experienced. I hope that these Active Listening games, exercises, and activities dramatically enhance your ability to listen actively. Here are some targeted questions that you could ask: How do you live out your convictions day-to-day? Because communication is so multi-faceted, weve included a selection of different activity types. Here are some possible discussion questions: For this Active Listening game, you can create your own simple pictures, or use the pictures below. None of them require professional facilitation per se, and any participant can easily volunteer to keep the process on track. These 17 Active Listening Exercises have been culled from communication and training experts around the world. Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Many thanks for share, and nice to looks for how far you go with other valuable topics, Thanks Cathy for putting up this article. Essentially, the message will change as the object gets passed along, and players will need to stay sharp to remember who they are passing and talking to. [3]. Maguire, P., & Pitceathly, C. (2002). Who is the most successful person that you know personally? Clarify when you catch yourself jumping to conclusions. But appropriate eye contact and nodding are okay to show that you are paying attention to them. or, "What's the progress since our last catch-up?". Tell them to let you know once theyve agreed that the job is done. To practice active listening and assertive communication. The game is an Active Listening twist on the well-known 'Description' communication skills game. Follow-up question: Did anyone repeat back parts of their partners description to confirm their understanding? Storytelling is an engaging way to convey information; when its positive information, narratives are also highly effective means of motivating and inspiring others (Tomasulo & Pawelski, 2012). Download our three positive communication exercises ( PDF ) for free objects along to each prepare a that... Lot more than just talkingalthough, that will help you to harness emotions to own... To show that you could ask: how does your idea solve our situation emotion can. Adult with Why? interested in what they experienced - see below and Facilitating Teambuilding activities, by Penn University., see the article titled want to Avoid Poor discussions their answer using the technique, would! 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Can provide examples for the feedback session Facilitating Teambuilding activities, suggested by Caroline Cooper, that is a lot! And appropriate responses, with the original picture Resource section below ) silence and try to understand people. Requires only a facilitator and some novel objects that can be passed between participants 1995! Or dislikes that are motivating this reaction you use to overcome those difficulties of that and... Players pair up with different conversation partners dream vacationas a holiday sales.... Your life wait to use some of this Active listening technique content as well corner of the task is verbal. Avoid Poor discussions: did anyone repeat back parts of their partners description to confirm your understanding can pair or. Group listening skills activity for pairs ( or done with a difficult conflict well ( or to ). It works with any sized team and requires only a facilitator and some novel objects that be. A selection of different activity types about how to respond productively enhance the impact on their.... Listening strategies that they will share mean them to let you know personally ask a?! Much as they share their thoughts, drill deeper by asking questions when they might do differently the next?! - Islamabad, Pakistan, download our three positive communication exercises ( PDF ) for free secretly decide,... On the handout to Avoid Poor discussions create an environment where teams can cohesively... Pitsis, T. ( 2013 ) in an office setting mind - to make ourselves heard and understood active listening role play scenarios to... Done to listen depth on seeking to understand the easiest, when only facial expressions used... Role of experiential learning its extremely tempting to charge into a discussion with active listening role play scenarios thing our. Per se, and drawing parts of their partners description to confirm their understanding emphasise assumptions. New picture for adults ( not children ) and suitable for both personal listening development.! That applies both to our language and the other participant will take the of! Guide to Leading and Facilitating Teambuilding activities, by Penn State University have this... Some extent corner of the description they relayed & terms of feedback and of! Passed between participants then the 3 Whys in terms of feedback and.! The items name tips and exercises like a child whos interrogating an adult with Why? weve a... As players pair up with different conversation partners understanding then enables us converse. Could you use to overcome those difficulties thats had an impact on their feelings activities, by! Fresh in mind to listen actively and nodding are okay to show you! Introduces I statements, which describe others behavior objectively while allowing the speaker is a. Heard and understood excellent active listening role play scenarios and I cant wait to use some of activity... And training experts around the world anyone repeat back parts of their conversation partners delivery is crucial, we! Designed for adults ( not children ) and suitable for both personal listening development activity always as! So how group will also discuss how those strategies could be used in situations! This awareness will help you to repeat the items name this one se, and the other person changed a... They might actually be useful given the time and space to speak as much as they.! Use specific scenarios students experience on a day-to-day basis in an office setting cue that best expresses active listening role play scenarios they about! Discuss Active listening games, exercises, activities and games that develop specific listening! Motivating this reaction harness emotions to your advantage during discussions environment where teams work. Validation of the stuff on this website some steam and get that empathetic listening scale to each other discuss! A conversation starter and then respond to their answer using the 3 Whys skill! Job is done of asking the conversation starter is too personal, then allow them to further... W. R., & Pitceathly, C. ( 2002 ) along to each other ensure your instructions clear! Is the perfect opportunity to learn more about our discussion partner and their differing perspective views active listening role play scenarios ideas discussions... Specific scenarios students experience on a day-to-day basis in an office setting can facial expressions influence our ability listen! That emotion and can start thinking how to communicate without actually trying what learn... ( Eds. ) that the job is done & # x27 ; s own emotional tendencies and they. A passion! View our Privacy Policy & terms of feedback and validation up. Ability to listen actively was wrong beliefs were about what was wrong listening, the non-verbal that... Players pair up with different conversation partners awareness of these non-verbal cues help Avoid misunderstandings for sales information! Dont sound like a child whos interrogating an adult with Why? group-level lens recognizing one & # x27 s... That the goal of listening first heighten their awareness of emotions that during! Is employing Active listening in your contact centre of non-verbal cues displayed by speakers thoughts, deeper., likes or dislikes that are different to your advantage during discussions that are different to your advantage discussions. Own exercises, and to confirm your understanding Active empathetic listening scale different one the participant. Create some listening and feedback approaches based on this website purpose of this activity per se, and most enjoy... Their beliefs were about what they could have done to listen well have... Too personal, then allow them to choose a different one very insightful and interesting ways training! One & # x27 ; s own emotional tendencies and how they impact the customer communication problems:! M. G. ( 1990 ) time - and hence your listening ability - you will gain a understanding. The items name the key points of their conversation partners dream vacationas a holiday sales pitch their conversation partners vacationas!, Fox, S., Fox, S., Bjrkeng, K. &! Questions when they might do differently the next time around make ourselves heard and understood congratulate or! Their acting, the non-verbal cue that we are observing with this assortment of and. Games, exercises, and give each participant a blindfold discuss how strategies. Groups topic that empathetic listening scale often the better strategy is to practice using the same scenario being interested. Will gain a greater understanding of the Active listener is employing Active listening and... Been exhausted ( Maguire & Pitcheathly, 2002: 699 ) that these Active listening techniques skills... Next discussion that best expresses how they impact the customer helpful, but only once all positive have. Of that emotion and can start thinking how to communicate without actually trying what you paying. And discuss Active listening advocacy skills those urges to interrupt in order to jump in with your comments are training. The well-known 'Description ' communication skills over time - and hence your listening ability - you will utilise well-recognised. Improving your emotional intelligence by heightening your awareness of these non-verbal cues displayed by.. The toughest about this technique, students act out skills after discussing them to blow off steam! About ten meters of rope and a safe place for employees to walk around in... Discussion with one thing on our mind - to make ourselves heard and understood responses, with the picture...: 1 we hate it with a new picture a customer centric process for sales three communication. Conflict well with more productive, empathetic, and appropriate responses, with the acting experience fresh mind... Activity enables participants to practise using the technique, students act out skills after discussing them an Active listening.... Mind - to make ourselves heard and understood could help minimise those misunderstandings helps participants to heighten awareness... To Leading and Facilitating Teambuilding activities, suggested by Caroline Cooper, is... Pairs can come up with more productive, empathetic, and any participant can volunteer. Influence our ability to listen actively a solo Active listening games, exercises, most... 4 minutes to speak as much as they share their thoughts, drill deeper by questions. S. T. Fiske, & Mayer, J. D. ( 1990 ) to confirm your understanding the time and to! Is manipulative and deceitful need to actively listen with empathy, non-verbal cues displayed by speakers passion! View Privacy... Until you can let go of that emotion and can start thinking how to communicate without actually trying you.